What do I have to say?
By Megan Albaugh
For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you know that I was asked to speak at a ladies luncheon at our church this past Saturday. Now, you need to know, I am perfectly comfortable being social with people, I like to share my life with others, and I love to SING in front of people. But something that I am NOT comfortable with is speaking publicly. I honestly was trying to think of the last time I really had done that…and I’m thinking it may have been in a communications class in college!!
So needless to say, I was super nervous and a big ball of stress. When I was first asked though, I knew I should say yes, so I did. As it got closer, I became more and more stressed. What if I can’t even think of anything to say? What if I stumble over my words? What if no one can connect to what I’m saying?
You see, I have gained a LOT of self confidence in the past 2 years, but I’m also human. On a regular basis I think to myself- Do I even have anything to share with other people? You know what I’ve found? We ALL have lessons and life experiences to share with others. Here’s what I learned from speaking this past Saturday at the luncheon.
Once I got out of my head and actually started speaking, I felt 100% (Ok, maybe 95%) comfortable! I definitely had found something to say!
I did stumble a few times over my words, but that’s ok, because I’m not a robot! I’m human, and a human that doesn’t speak publicly a lot, so its ok! I honestly think it made me for relatable to others.
Not only did people connect with what I was sharing (laughed when I laughed, cried when I cried), but a few of them also shared with me that they had similar stories to what I shared!
I think the biggest things that I’ve learned from this whole experience is to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and to be transparent. I encourage you to push yourself. If you always stay in your comfort zone, you’ll just always be there- there’s no growth or stretching of your skills and talents. Sure, you may not be great at it, but there’s no harm in trying! As far as transparency goes, again, just being open. I’ve heard many times in the past year (and again in the past couple days) how thankful people are that I share my life (on the blog and Facebook). I don’t just share the good in my life, but I openly share my struggles and concerns. Here’s the thing: None of us are perfect. When you share authentically with others what’s going on, it gives them permission to do the same. A lot of time, specifically on social media, it’s easy to just share the “picture perfect” moments. But that’s not realistic. Realistically, my life is messy. We have good days, and a lot of rough ones. If I share a little of everything, I open up the conversation with others to share their good and bad as well.
All this said, I encourage you to get out there, push yourself to get uncomfortable and be authentic and transparent to those around you.
I’ll end with this: Although I know it’ll stress me out if/when I ever speak publicly again, I’ve been encouraged by multiple people that were there Saturday to do so. So, if you’re looking for a speaker for a SMALL get together, let me know!
