YES…mission accomplished…too much fun and so many friends at PCMA Convening Leaders last week. My Orlando team building session was a success. In fact, this presentation of Harnessing Your Creative Power was a lock for me, a step to the next level and here’s why.
Internalizing the Program
I’ve never considered my speaking presentation my strongest suit. I’d rather be at the piano when I’m delivering content. I’d rather be innovating while I’m talking about innovating, and creating music while I’m talking about creativity. Makes sense, doesn’t it? But when I began to do speaking presentations I got a bit bogged down in the mechanics of the ‘speaking part’. I knew I had to focus on a step-by-step process to demystify the creative process. I knew I had to offer concrete learning outcomes and actionable take-aways. So at first I was so focused on content and outcomes I lost the essence of what I do best – make stuff up at the piano! The good news is that 2012 gave me lots of opportunity to practice my KeyNote speaking session. There’s nothing like being on stage to quickly learn what works and what doesn’t. I’ve learned that what works best is what I’ve internalized in a genuine way. I’m the best me when I utilize my own unique skill set. That’s true for all of us. But sometimes recognizing that and figuring out how to communicate our most authentic self is tough. Sometimes it takes practice.
It may look like I’m alone but there are a few hundred people out there
Orlando Team Building
Last week at PCMA in Orlando I finally found my speaking groove. I should have known it’s not too far from my team building groove. I finally got to the point where my most authentic self (the piano player) completely integrated with the educational content featured in my speaking presentations. It reminds me of the old joke where a visitor stops someone on the street in NYC and asks, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” The kind New Yorker responded, “Practice, practice, practice!” It takes time to internalize information and then to gain enough confidence in that information that we can make it our own. Whether we’re talking about creativity, making music or selling ice cream (guess I’m kinda hungry right now…); people respond to sincerity, enthusiasm and knowledge.
If you’d like to hear the song we created during this Orlando team building keynote, click this link to listen. This is what happens when a large group comes together around a common theme in a creative playground. Thanks to all of you who suspended disbelief and participated. It was fun!