Working around Limitations is a Winning Choice.
Here’s Megan Washington Stuttering and Singing at TED. And she was a charming surprise Presenter for the audience. You see, when Megan Washington Speaks she stutters. But when Megan Sings she doesn’t stutter. Isn’t that curious? I thought so too. Stuttering is not uncommon. But it does discourage many people from contributing or Advocating at Public events. Stuttering is an embarrassing condition for many people of all ages. Often, a stutterer will avoid participating in Meetings, Luncheons or other high profile Speaking events such as TED. But that wasn’t Megan Washington’s choice as you’re about to see & hear. She shares her Story, with both personal and light-hearted comments, while stuttering throughout. She then leads us to her musical performance, which as you’re about to see and hear, is quite remarkable…
There are 3 points I’d like you to take away from Megan, Stuttering and Singing at TED,
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Megan doesn’t let her stutter prevent her from Speaking or Singing to us.
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She uses her phone as a ‘guide’ to her Presentation. You too can use a phone as your “Guide”.
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Her music is really lovely…I enjoyed her “Stutter-free” Performance. Didn’t You?
If someone you know has a stutter or some other speech impediment, I hope you’ll share this video. It’s another good example of people overcoming their fear of embarrassment. Fortunately for us, Megan shares Her Story, talent and ideas. And of course we can all enjoy her Musical Talent. I encourage you to applaud her ability to overcome her embarrassment to Speak in front of an Audience. Embarrassment is the KEY factor in “Fear of Speaking”.
Unless Megan had an alternative way of communicating, in this case Singing, we may never have had any input, perspective, or solutions contributed by Her. A loss in many ways for all of us. There are so many issues that need Solutions and all of us, should pick one(or more) to focus our attention on. Megan demonstrates that obvious Limitations don’t have to Limit us unless we choose to let them.
I am seeing more tech devices being used to aid in delivering Presentations. Replacing note cards with an easy to carry device is convenient and in many ways a better choice. If you choose a Tablet, be sure to practice with it several times to ensure you are comfortable using it with an Audience. Also remember to have it fully charged, and as a back-up have a printed copy available… just in case of Tablet or Battery failure.
Finally, I encourage you to take a look at your resistance to participating in public events. If you’re on this website, you’re probably looking for answers, information, technique and maybe a bit of encouragement. I hope this post gave you something inspirational, to take forward.
Speaking Skills are learnable
at age, anytime, anywhere.
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