Thursday, June 21, 2007

A Side Effect of Writing

Fourteen hours ago, I gleefully discovered that tons of writing pays off in unexpected, delightful ways.

A Little Background: I was asked to address a crowd of around 150 persons on the topic of professionalism yesterday. No biggie - I used to be a public speaker, I have 25+ years experience as a performer, and I enjoy motivating and educating others.

That being said, I commonly have "brain burps" during my presentations, moments where I just cannot find the right word(s) to fit the situation. Though those occurrences aren't earth-shattering, they are certainly annoying (probably to listeners, too.)

But last night's speech was very different. Incredibly, I was able to consistently pinpoint the correct word without affecting the flow of the talk. I felt like I was writing aloud.

It was lovely and somewhat surreal.

I can only attribute this new-found ability to focus to all the freelancing I've done over the past three years. Searching for the perfect way to phrase a sentence or make a point on paper or computer screen must have increased my capacity to do so while speaking, too.

Again, I know this isn't breaking news worthy of a press release. But it does deserve a big nod.

(nod)

2 comments:

Kim said...

Hi! I found my way here when you left a comment on my blog - I envy people who can do public speaking. Unfortunately, I'm not one of the them! :)

The Quoibler said...

Kim:

I envy people who can write novels! I like shorter pieces because I don't have to "live" with them for months. So hats off to you!

Angelique