People With Passion Radio Show

Whew! I have my first radio show under my belt. I blogged some time ago that I was going to start hosting the Community Accents program on the 4th Tuesday of each month for 1490 WLOE/1420 WMYN.  Community Accents brings different people in to host segments--the county Sheriff, Town managers, the President of Rockingham Community College and there are fun segments like a cooking show, etc.

I was given free reign to talk about what I want and I decided I would spend my 30 minutes each month interviewing people who had a passion for life. Maybe it's their work, their art, a cause they're fighting for... just something that ignites a spark in them and gets them excited.

I had a spectacular guest today - Flavel Collins who is the Community Relations Coordinator for the Hospice in our county. She's leading a multi-million dollar drive to raise money for a Hospice Home (right now our Hospice just offers in-home care).  Flavel is passionate about her work, the new home, and everything Hospice stands for. She had a family member that required the services of Hospice, which is how she became involved.  

I'm not quite brave enough to go back and listen to the tape just yet.  I'll just trust my instinct that it went well. But I'm looking forward to ferreting out people with unusual interests and hobbies and passions and having them on the air.

This is Dena Harris, on-air talent, signing off...   =) 

Mid-Point Evaluation

Have I mentioned I'm enrolled in a 10-week Dale Carnegie class? I had a friend who went through the training. His speaking ability was already strong before he entered the class but he just zoomed to a new level after the training.  So much so that I decided to sign up myself.

We're halfway through the training and I have to say, I'm not getting so much out of it. But to be fair, I know I'm not putting much in it. In hindsight, I shouldn't have signed up for this training period. Life is just crazy and the course has become less of a learning experience and more of just another "to do" to cross off my list.  I'm sure I'd be taking much more away if I approached it with a more positive, inquisitive, open attitude. (The first night we were encouraged to not "condemn, complain, or criticize." I'm sitting in class thinking, "Uh-huh. I'm going to need some new friends.")

I do think the course has value. There are several people in my class who are just blossoming--coming out of their shell, gaining confidence, and really putting forth effort. One big guy came in and reported that people at his work told him "charm school is working." So now we all refer to the training as charm school.

Two things I've really gotten out of the experience:

1) The reading. Surprisingly, I find the D.C. books to be engaging and well written. Lots of great real-life examples and even though a lot of the information is stuff most of us already know, it's a gentle nudge to put the theory into practice.

2) We were asked to name one area or task in our life that we could commit to with 10x more enthusiasm. Many people chose exercising, for example. I chose the phone. I loath the phone. I'd rather type out a 10-minute e-mail or drive 40 minutes for a 10-minute face-to-face meeting than I would pick up the phone and call someone. So I've committed to using the phone with 10x more enthusiasm and I have to say, it's made a huge difference. I make a call and get the information I need or knock out a task that normally would have me waiting for an e-mail response.  I've also had a huge project this month that requires over 30 phone interviews and this commitment has made me approach the work with a positive vs. "I dread doing this" attitude.

Is the course worth the money? I'll wait until week 10 to make that call.  Until then, this is me--not condemning, criticizing, or complaining.

Peace out.

Headshots

I have spent the last 3 evenings staring at my face. 130 images of my face, to be more precise. And it wasn't enough that I do it. I have forced family and friends to spend their free time staring at my mug as well.

My headshot photos are in. As a whole, I'm exceptionally pleased.  Out of 130 pictures we discarded half right off the bat. We narrowed it down to a broad 30 that were "maybe's" and then sent the photos out for feedback. We entered the responses in an Excel spreadsheet so we could track who liked what and where there was consensus (sometimes having a CPA for a husband really works to your advantage).  

We got it down to a final 12 and it was hard to pick from there, but I went with 4 that I'm pleased with. The only thing missing is that most of the shots are casual. I was hoping for one strictly business shot but those photos didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. Not the fault of the photographer, who was brilliant and who I HIGHLY recommend. No, I just didn't wear enough jewelry with the business outfit I chose and the result was that I looked kind of "incomplete." No harm done, as I still really like what I have. 

The photographer, btw, is Stacey Hines at staceyhines.com. She's from Nova Scotia and is settled now in Greensboro but still travels extensively for her work.  Exceptionally friendly and professional and did a wonderful job putting me at ease. I will use her for all my photo needs from now on.

I've just ordered the photos so I'll post them once they are mine to post.  Many thanks to those of you who looked through the photos without complaint!

Speakers Gone Crazy!

There may not be as much skin as in the "Girls Gone Wild" series, but there is drama nonetheless in today's dramatic and riveting episode of "Speakers Gone Crazy."

I tell my public speaking students that they must be ready to adjust their talks at a moment's (if even that much) notice and yesterday gave me the opportunity to practice what I preach. My friend Pam Cable and I were invited several months ago to speak at a celebration for Women's Equality Day, hosted by the Commission on the Status of Women in Greensboro. We were asked to prepare an hour and fifteen minute presentation.

When we got to the event and looked at the program we saw we were scheduled for an hour. No big deal. Then breakfast started late, which meant the keynote speaker started (and ended) late. The day was then supposed to be divided into morning speakers, 15 minute break, afternoon speakers.  The people who spoke before our session went WAY over time limit. They blew through the break period and went right on talking up to the start time of our presentation, with no indication they had any intention of stopping.

I was livid. More so at the event organizer than the speakers. How hard is it to step in and say, "I'm so sorry to cut you short when you have such wonderful information to share, but we need to take a quick break and start our next sessions. Let's have a big round of applause for...." ?  Didn't happen.

We were scheduled to start at 11 and at ten after I left the room and found the event chair who was in the foyer.

"Are we cancelling the afternoon sessions?" I asked.

"Oh. No. We just got a little late start but they'll start soon."

"Really?" I asked. "Because the speaker in our room just launched a 10 minute video presentation." 

Eight minutes into the video the chair came in and signalled them to cut it off.  And so finally, with 35 minutes left in the day, Pam and I started our speech.

And it was fine. Both of us thankfully are able to go with the flow and we got the main points across and had a fun time. But I find it inexcusable on the part of the chair to have let matters go the way they did, and the only reason she stopped the session when she did is that I went out and got her.  Pam and I volunteered to do this and each of us probably put in 4 hours of prep time, getting the handouts and information ready.  There was no apology for wasted time, no acknowledgement that things could have been handled better.

I went home and was telling Blair what happened and he grinned and said, "This is why men still rule the world." He was kidding, but I'm frankly inclined to find some truth in the matter.  This is how a group of women wanting to celebrate women run the event? It's too bad, because there were great speakers with great information there. And chances are strong I'm much more bothered as a presenter than I might of been as an attendee (although  maybe not--I'm pretty anal about start/stop times all the way around). =)  But in the end everything turned out okay, we delivered the talk and went on with our lives.

And it was a good lesson that even when you're handed a prescribed length of time to talk, always be prepared to extend or shorten on the spot.