The last several weeks I have been taking a class where occasionally I am called upon to give opinions on topics I don't know much about and have no warning about: impromptu topics.
I knew it before and bemoaned it, and in the last few weeks I have re-discovered that I don't think very well on my feet. I need time to reflect, to ponder. More than just a few seconds. This is one of the reasons I write rather than use any other means of communication.
Often, I'm just not interested in the topic at hand. Current events bore and depress me, so I usually refuse to read or listen to the news. I haven't listened to radio on a regular basis since I was in my 30s. I got tired of listening to twenty songs I hated to hear the one I hoped they would play. And I found talk radio filled with nothing but idle prattle which might put me to sleep rather than stimulate me.
This came home to me yesterday as I had to give a three to four-minute presentation on one of three given topics which were given to me just two minutes beforehand. The two minutes were for preparation of what I wanted to say and how, and then I was to launch into it. Moreover, the person who asked me to do this was a virtual stranger to me. There was absolutely no rapport with this guy.
To top it off, I really wanted to do well, because in mid-January, I will have to do it for real - to keep my French-speaking levels up.
So I stumbled, backed up, repeated myself, made all the classic mistakes, and when I had exhausted all I could think of during the speech, couldn't figure out how to end it. By the end of it, I was doing what is commonly known as "bullsh**ting." Grasping for words - literally not knowing what the next words out of my mouth were going to be.
My problem was that I knew that my skills were being judged and I got nervous and insecure. To top it all off, the presentation wasn't in my mother tongue and I knew that my grammar would be scrutinized as well. I braced myself for the criticism I would receive. But all the fellow said was that I had gone over the time, and that I had gone into too much detail while using a personal example.
I know he was being gracious. But the fact remained that this realm of not being able to articulate what I think "on the spot" is a known weakness of mine. I knew it; I've always known it. And I have always settled for just living with it.
The Serenity Prayer says, "God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference." I'm getting better at accepting things I can't change. I still need a LOT of Wisdom. And I'm finding that there are more things I thought I couldn't change ... that it appears I can.
Like thinking on my feet. Apparently it is a skill that can be learned!! Who knew? I went looking on Google this morning briefly, before anyone else was awake, "how to think on your feet." I was surprised that there was so much written on the subject, and came up with some simple strategies to help me relax and structure my thoughts "on the fly". As I get closer and closer to my real impromptu presentation, I hope to be able to use some of these techniques.
One more way to grow. On my feet. Huh.
I knew it before and bemoaned it, and in the last few weeks I have re-discovered that I don't think very well on my feet. I need time to reflect, to ponder. More than just a few seconds. This is one of the reasons I write rather than use any other means of communication.
Often, I'm just not interested in the topic at hand. Current events bore and depress me, so I usually refuse to read or listen to the news. I haven't listened to radio on a regular basis since I was in my 30s. I got tired of listening to twenty songs I hated to hear the one I hoped they would play. And I found talk radio filled with nothing but idle prattle which might put me to sleep rather than stimulate me.
To top it off, I really wanted to do well, because in mid-January, I will have to do it for real - to keep my French-speaking levels up.
So I stumbled, backed up, repeated myself, made all the classic mistakes, and when I had exhausted all I could think of during the speech, couldn't figure out how to end it. By the end of it, I was doing what is commonly known as "bullsh**ting." Grasping for words - literally not knowing what the next words out of my mouth were going to be.
My problem was that I knew that my skills were being judged and I got nervous and insecure. To top it all off, the presentation wasn't in my mother tongue and I knew that my grammar would be scrutinized as well. I braced myself for the criticism I would receive. But all the fellow said was that I had gone over the time, and that I had gone into too much detail while using a personal example.
I know he was being gracious. But the fact remained that this realm of not being able to articulate what I think "on the spot" is a known weakness of mine. I knew it; I've always known it. And I have always settled for just living with it.
The Serenity Prayer says, "God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference." I'm getting better at accepting things I can't change. I still need a LOT of Wisdom. And I'm finding that there are more things I thought I couldn't change ... that it appears I can.
Like thinking on my feet. Apparently it is a skill that can be learned!! Who knew? I went looking on Google this morning briefly, before anyone else was awake, "how to think on your feet." I was surprised that there was so much written on the subject, and came up with some simple strategies to help me relax and structure my thoughts "on the fly". As I get closer and closer to my real impromptu presentation, I hope to be able to use some of these techniques.
One more way to grow. On my feet. Huh.
No comments:
Post a Comment