This past Monday was the kids’ first day back at
school. While many parents, me included,
dread this event, our kids tend to look at it from different point of views. Some kids love it. Other kids hate it. My son, Justin, who started middle school this year, was
both nervous and excited. After going to
his new school’s orientation, he spent
every spare moment he had not only meticulously planning his wardrobe, but
mapping his daily schedule, memorizing his lunch PIN and locker combination,
and setting and resetting his alarm clock. His also made sure to learn his bus
schedule and bus number, too. Like I mentioned, he was excited.
But, he was also nervous.
The first thing that
I asked him on Monday morning was how he felt. He smiled and responded that he
had been too excited to sleep. I asked
him if he meant nervous. He replied, both: though, he believed he was more
excited than nervous. Having felt this way myself, I told him that I could
understand what he meant. The two
emotions can often feel the same and evoke the same energy. Being nervous can help us become aware that we
need more preparation for an event. Many times, being nervous can also make it
seem as if we are excited, therefore optimistic, as we take on a new challenge;
such as the first day of school, a much bigger school.
What my son did to prepare for his milestone moment exemplifies
what we, as Toastmasters, can all do in undertaking our presentations. The
first thing to do is plan, plan, and plan some more. My son is not obsessive-compulsive
at all. Sadly, he is somewhat
scattered-brained like his mom. However again like his mother, he will plan
well for something that he is particularly excited about. He even devised
backup-plans for his big day. For
example, he set up two alarm clocks in case one did not go off. How often have
we seen ill-prepared speakers waste time trying to get their slideshows to work
at the onset of their scheduled presentations? A practice run or backup presentation
would have saved the day and more importantly time and effectiveness. A second thing to do is to use our nervous
energy while we speak. Using nervous energy effectively
makes us appear to our audience as peppy, confident, and excited about our
topic. Since, Justin was nervous, his
adrenaline was high, his spirits were up, and he tackled the day ahead of him. He
channeled his nervousness into excitement and made his first day seem like an
adventure, not an obstacle course. This
allowed Justin to help many of his friends find their classes, work their
lockers, and become more comfortable when around the worldly 7th-
and 8th- graders. Using nervous energy can bring life not only to
the presentation, but build the audience’s confidence in what the speaker is presenting,
too.
Hopefully, Justin will be able to use his nervous energy
during his first tackle football game this Saturday. It may not be pretty, but
he is excited.
submitted by Carolina Little, VP of Education
