When I was in college I was a member of the Peer Education Program (PEP.) We were just starting to realize the devastation that HIV and AIDS were likely to cause on campus if we didn’t get the word out about how the disease is spread (and how it is not spread.) So, my health-conscious friends and I were banding together to take the message into as many college classrooms as possible.

As you may have guessed, this is where the banana comes in. The prophylactic, too.

The PEP program was run by the health services department of our university. This means we definitely had access to all of the anatomically correct three-dimensional genitalia models we might want. We definitely used them for our studies and PEP program education. What we did not use them for was demonstrations for how to put on a condom (prophylactic, in fancy terms.)

Why?

Because an anatomically correct three-dimensional penis model would have been too distracting.

Amplifying aids should always, always, always amplify your content – make the information easier to understand and use. Many of the students in our college classrooms, while they were likely to be sexually active, had not had much up-close-and-personal-with-the-lights-on experience looking at male genitalia – certainly not in a roomful of their peers. It was critical that we kept their attention on the task at hand (ahem), instead of flinging into the mind flurry that might have occurred in processing an actual male penis.

Plus, it added a a bit of light-heartedness to a topic that was quite heavy and intense. It kept their attention.

The most important thing about using the banana, though, was that it worked.

It actually served well as a demonstration tool. We even had students in the classes practice on a few spare bananas we brought. I am certain that we’d have had less participation in that exercise if we had chosen the 3D anatomy models we had back at the PEP office.

So, your takeaway is this:

Think seriously about whether your amplifying aid will actually enhance your presentation.

Does it make it even better than it would be without it? If it doesn’t, don’t bother. It will make you less effective in your goals for speaking – and it will get in the way of creating a powerful relationship with your audience by causing distraction from the important and useful information you have to share. You definitely don’t want that.

Tell me – do you have any stories about creative amplifying aids you have used? Any horror stories we can learn from?

Thank you, Topicchio, for the banana pile image. It serves well as a reminder about the potential effectiveness of using bananas in condom use demonstrations – without being too distracting. If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

• Wabi Sabi: The Art (& Bummer) of Imperfection
• Organizing Your Speech So Your Audience Can Actually Use the Information (Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People Video Blog Series)
• It's ALL about the story!
• Messy Presentations
• It's What You Know That Counts

Every time I see a new post in my inbox from Penelope Trunk, my heart skips a giddy little beat.

Why? You ask…

Because I know she’s going to say things that shock me, make me think, and unhinge my jaw at some point in almost every post.

I read a lot of stuff. I have a book collection that shames the Barnes & Noble business book shelf – and my parenting and self-help/psychology collections are just a few books shy of that business shelf. I read zillions of blogs, haphazardly, maybe like you do. I know many of us who spend a lot of time online skim the blog world throughout the day.

So, I’m saying, with all this reading I do, I rarely get shocked… flabbergasted…

…awed by the sheer gall and brilliance of an idea or connection between ideas like I do with Penelope Trunk. I love her writing because I can count on this amplified emotional experience that also teaches me some kind of otherwise mundane life lesson. I just dig that.

I dig it so much that if I see the post arrive when I’m already way past my bedtime and my eyes are dried out and I’m barely able to read, I still stay and read the whole thing. I miss the first five minutes of dinner if that’s when the post arrives – it’s so enticing to me. Even if I’m really hungry.

Not all of my friends read and like Penelope Trunk.

In fact, I have forwarded her posts, touted her audacious writing and passed her url onto almost everyone I’ve talked to for more than ten minutes about blogging. Three of my friends actively dislike reading Penelope’s blog, which totally blows my mind. They say they “don’t get it” and that it’s just too much oversharing about  her personal life. Which is what I love about her blog, in large part – along with the way she ties in sex, parenting, personal relationships and career so unexpectedly and (mostly) brilliantly.

I keep wanting to convince my friends who don’t love Penelope to read her because I know they’d see how great of a writer she is if they just read a little more.

Then I remember that they don’t have to love her.

In fact, that they don’t is a sign that she’s doing a bang up writing job after all.

And that’s the part I want to learn how to do even better – write so that some people don’t like it.

What about you? Do you write knowing that some people won’t like it? What’s your strategy?

Thanks eschipul for the photo of Penelope speaking. I was going to grab one from her site, but I’m afraid she’d get mad and we all know how scary it is to have the wrath of Penelope. If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

• The Power of the Pause
• Seth Godin is Giving It Away
• The You Interview (First Ever Video Blog Post)
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• Your Parenting Brand

Last night Jim and I went to see Dar Williams perform at The Tower Theatre here in Bend.

Damn – she is amazing. If you get a chance, go see Dar. Anywhere you can.

While it’s the first time I’ve seen her on stage, I get the strong impression that no matter where she performs, it feels like you are in a 30-seat coffeehouse and she’s singing just for you and your friends. That’s a gift, she’s got – a big bonus to the crazy-good voice and storytelling she does in her music.

Many little things made me think of the parallels between performing music and public-speaking, between my occasional tears, raucous laughter and total absorption in the music. The one that stood out the most is when Dar just completely forgot the lyrics to the song she was singing.

I mean, like stumble, stop strumming, hand-to-head-with-squinty-eyes forgot.

As is always the case, I had a moment of panic, on her behalf. This is good to note in all presenting/performing: NO ONE wants you to fail, mess up, or fall apart (okay, I suppose there are those wack-jobs out there whose self-esteem thrives on that kind of horror, but they are very, very rare – and they don’t matter, really, anyway.)

My point is: I needed Dar to pull it together fast so I did not get more uncomfortable. My overall pleasure at the show really depended on that.

She handled it beautifully.

Three specific things she did during the show and at the time of the forgotten-lyrics-situation made the situation a non-issue - and possibly even added to the overall great feeling of the experience for me as an audience member. These things can serve you well in your public-speaking, too, if you ever find yourself in the difficult situation of forgotten information or other on-stage struggles. Here they are:

Create genuine connection with your audience, from the very beginning. From the start of the show, Dar told these riveting backstories on the songs she was about to sing. She was both self-deprecating and brilliant in detail and description. Very early on, I was absolutely certain that Dar and I would be fabulous friends. I felt I knew her – and I wanted good things for her. So, when things went a little awry, my heart was on her side, willing the words to come back to her.

Own up to the situation with grand confidence. It was surprising when Dar stopped, mid-song, hand to head, and said “Oh no! I’ve forgotten…” – but she was laughing, and her posture and facial expression said, “But don’t worry, I’ll get it…” She continued to strum along, commentary flowing… then she said something like, “I’m sorry, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way…. but, well, better you than at the wedding… ” Since she had been sharing about her life so much to that point, we all knew she was playing at her college best friend’s wedding in a few days. Instead of feeling like a “low blow”, it was a beautiful way to dissipate the tension and remind us all of our shared history (if but only for the last hour) and connection. She picked back up playing quickly and took that song on with the same confidence as all the others. Which leads me to the final and critically important part…

Move on. We’ll be okay if you’re okay. So get okay as soon as possible. Dar made one more comment, as she began to sing the next song (a beautiful song, written about her husband), reassuring us, “I’ve got a much better handle on this one…” After that, the show went on just as before – mesmerizing storytelling in both song and monologue. I could have listened for at least another hour. And I don’t often feel that way after two hours of doing anything.

Sometime I’ll tell you about the time I forgot my lines on a stage in San Francisco. I didn’t handle it nearly as gorgeously as Dar Williams, but I learned a lot about just how much the audience wants you to succeed. If you do the things Dar did above, you will both get past the angst of your own blipped moment and you’ll make a very cool impression on your audience. Meantime, go get yourself some Dar!

Thanks Dunkv, for the way better Dar shot than I was able to get on my iPhone at last night’s concert. If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

• 3 Ways to Eliminate Public Speaking Anxiety (and other kinds of social anxiety)
• It’s Not That I Wasn’t Listening But I Can’t Remember Your Name
• Who Are You? And, What Are You Trying to Say?
• Lessons from Behind the Podium
• Outsourcing Domestic Help at Home

One time I called a good friend of mine and her husband answered the phone. I consider her husband a friend, too, if but one layer away in the circle than my friend. The point is - I totally know his name.

“Hello?”, he husks out in his lovely voice. A voice with which I am very familiar.

“Hi… um… oh, jeez… It’s Michelle! I’m so sorry… my mind is blank…”

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. The horror, really. To not remember my own friend’s name.

I know that he totally felt like I don’t really care about him in that moment. Like all of those cool conversations over dinner and annual Halloween shared family events meant nothing to me.

“Brandon”, he says, laughing. He’s so kind. See, there are so many reasons to like him. Which I totally do!

I was so mortified that I can’t even remember what I said next to feebly try to make up for the terrible slight of forgetting his name. I just remember that he did his best to make a joke of it and I was so relieved when he handed the phone to his wife. Of course, I did everything I could to keep her on the phone as long as possible in hopes he’d somehow forget this whole terrible mess and not tell my friend that I forgot her husband’s name – the guy who takes our family holiday photo for us every year.

This is, of course, not the only time I’ve forgotten a person’s name.

In fact, pretty much every time I meet someone new, I forget their name. Even when they totally impressed me. Even when I am so impressed that I develop a “friend crush” on them and have fantasies of long Saturday morning coffee conversations about our deepest thoughts and dreams, I can easily forget their name.

The thing is, I swear I truly was listening when I was first told said name.

I’ve read stuff about this over the years – articles that come across my screen and in doctor’s office magazines. Most of them say that if you don’t remember a person’s name then you probably weren’t really paying attention when they told it to you.

I get that. I can see how distraction (which is a problem for me at times) can make it hard to listen well to a person. But frankly, I’ve checked on this a thousand times and I am not distracted. I am truly listening. Hell, nothing fascinates me more than great conversation with a person – and a new person with real connection possibility is such a jackpot. I am totally listening.

So, then what’s with not remembering their name?

After simply one too many situations where I avoid talking with someone who I would like to visit with again – because I couldn’t remember their name – I decided to do a little research and find out what might really be going on for me.

It turns out, I actually have been listening.

I knew it! (Or, at least, there are other possible explanations for the name memory thing.)

Since I’m thinking there might be one or two of you out there who struggle with the same thing (I know it, actually, because I’ve commiserated with many of you about this very topic), I figured I’d share what I learned in my research. Maybe you’ll feel vindicated, too – or at least more accurately understood for this annoying name-forgetting affliction.

Two theories really rang fascinating for me:

A faulty dentate gyrus (which means I need to exercise more – damn!) & the brain’s shifting gifts (if you hear this as “aging”, you are right on. But, really now, isn’t everyone’s brain aging?!).

To keep this simple (which is all my brain can do right now anyway – having not exercised in hours and recently had an extra sweet margarita – ole’!), the dentate gyrus problem is something about glucose not processing right in this part of the brain. Exercise can help this, of course, because exercise helps everything (which would make a rational person wonder why one wouldn’t exercise all the time. I should wonder it more, really.) What I love about this theory is that it completely supports my absolute certainty that I truly am paying attention when you tell me your name. It’s something that happens after you tell me your name that causes the problem – and it’s in some little part of my brain that I have little control over (except the damn exercise thing.) A way better explanation of this whole thing can be found in this Scientific American article.

The second theory I really liked was the one where my brain is just busy doing more meaningful things, like solving world problems and making interesting connections between things. The little details (which names would fit into in this case, though I know a person’s name is such a meaningful thing for them) get tossed aside by more complex thinking. This resonates for me because I actually remember virtually everything about the person, except their name. I will remember their stories, what they do for work, how many kids they have or their world travels. I remember what mattered to them when we spoke and even the way they talk, with particular inflections and idiosyncratic movements. It’s just the name that escapes me!

Things go a little awry in this New York Times article I read on this aging brain phenomenon because I couldn’t find anything I could actually do to get better at remembering names in this situation. The focus became largely on ways to create more connections in your brain so you could continue to expand your own brain function. This greater brain function wasn’t as concerned about remembering names.

I feel better, knowing that there is evidence (beyond my own feeling of certainty) that I can really be genuinely present with a person and still not remember their name.

I hope you do, too – if either I forget your name when we meet, or if you forget someone else’s (including mine, which I truly don’t feel bad about, seeings as I completely get it.)

That said, I am still seeking strategies that truly help with remembering names. Because, frankly, no matter how fancily I explain all the reasons I might forget someone’s name, I also know that it feels a little crappy, after a lovely conversation, when we meet again in some unexpected place and I can’t say, “Hello, Your Name! So good to see you again!”

So, please – do you have any strategies that really work for remembering names? (Aside from exercise, which any minute now I am going to ramp up big time, thank you) because I’d so love to hear them.If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

• The Little Things
• Keeping Your Word is a Big Deal
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• Radical Clarity: The Secret to Creating a Business You LOVE
• Lose Your Elevator Pitch

I got a phone call four nights ago from a good friend’s husband.

While she and I were really good friends about seven years ago, and have maintained a caring friendship across many miles and life changes, I didn’t know her husband really well.

Which is why my heart sank when I heard who it was on the other end of the line.

“I’m really sorry to be calling to tell you this. Terry passed away five months ago.”

What?

Seriously, it’s impossible in that moment to process the information.

Terry? There’s no way. She was only 44. She was strong, healthy and passionate about too many things. The part in my brain that understands death is nowhere near the region in my brain that holds Terry’s image and life. And they weren’t moving any closer together then, even as he told me the details of her passing.

Terry was the Executive Director of an environmental organization in Homer, Alaska when she died. Before that, she was heading up the Red Rock Forests advocacy organization in Southeastern Utah. Mostly, Terry was a passionate advocate for trees, animals and natural habitats. She loved dogs. She loved hiking. She loved making things better. Spend an hour with Terry and you knew who she was and what mattered to her.

It’s not that other things don’t matter to Terry, too. She adored her husband and stepkids. She was a kind and thoughtful friend. I’m sure that in the last six years when miles and life changes made our contact infrequent, she had many interesting things going on in her life beyond what I knew of her. But what I absolutely know for sure is that my sense of Terry from way back then is the same driving sense of Terry that those who met her six months ago experienced: committed, loyal, tireless-fixer, saving the planet in big and small ways, laughing at the dogs’ latest shenanigans all the while.

Ever since I got that call from Harold, Terry’s husband – between memories of little things Terry and I did together, conversations I so enjoyed with her -

I keep thinking to myself this:

I love knowing exactly who Terry was – it was always so crystal clear. She was both a wonderful listener and an eloquent, passionate and thoughtful advocate for what she believed in.

What is my version of this expression in my own life?

I knew who Terry was and what she believed in – and she didn’t have to scream it from the rooftops. It was clear by the way she chose to spend her time, the conversations she was inclined to begin and the places she put her energy and attention. I want to be even more of that kind of clarity of self-expression. She’s a meaningful guide for me. Thank you, Terry. Every Red Rock, ocean view and goofy-faced dog will remind me.

Thank you, Alan Vernon, for the beautiful Red Rock image.If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

• It’s Not That I Wasn’t Listening But I Can’t Remember Your Name
• Labyrinth as Business Planning Tool
• A Renaissance
• Will you please do me a favor? I want to *really* understand soul-inspired business owners' needs.
• Contribution

Push Past Public Speaking Fear

(I wrote this article for Cascade Business News (a local publication in my town of Bend, Oregon), which printed this week and thought you might find it useful, too.)

The last time I did a pro-bono 20-minute presentation for a networking organization, I had one person slip me their card on my way back to my seat and two more emails in my inbox when I started work the next morning, all inviting me to work on projects with them. That “free” presentation turned into hundreds of dollars worth of paid work the following day.

And it’s not just me who has this experience.

Lynn Wenger, founder & web developer for webprodigy.com, had three new website development clients before she even finished her community education program on How to Build Your Own Website.

I’m just sayin’… I know that speaking can be scary (it’s the number one fear for people in national polls), but it’s worth it to look that fear right in it’s gnarled up little face, give it a smile and nod, and get on stage (or in front of the room, more likely) anyway.

Here’s more on why:

People work with people that they know, like and trust. When you offer up your expertise for people to listen to and use (even for free), they get a taste of your style, your level of knowledge, and your humanity. If you do a good job with the presentation (more on this next time), then they feel connected to you. Think of that – all in one fell swoop of a short presentation, you have created a sense of connection with a whole roomful of people. That’s some powerful groundwork toward new business.

Your potential clients are looking for solutions to their problems. Seriously, we’re all searching for the answers, aren’t we? Like I need to organize my daughters’ clothes in a way better system! If someone stood in the front of a room and gave me real, actionable, valuable information about how I might be able to do that (just as an example – calling all organizers!) there is a good chance I’d hire them to come show me at my house – or possibly even do it for me. What can you give away in a talk that would inspire someone to hire you for the next level of service?

Creating a presentation makes you a way better business-person, no matter what your topic area. To create a great presentation, you have to hone in very specifically on your message. You need to be able to name the problem you solve, say succinctly and powerfully what you can do to help and offer uber-clear suggestions for action. That kind of extreme clarity gets integrated into your day-to-day marketing and business practice to your benefit.

I guarantee that you will feel the benefit of pushing through your fear of public-speaking and getting out there with your well-crafted message in many parts of your business. You will almost certainly get new clients as an immediate result and the confidence and clarity you experience after the process will have a long-lasting energizing effect on so many aspects of your business.

Go ahead, feel the fear, smile and nod, then get on up there and say it!

If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

• A Manifesto of True Clarity
• Networking Fumble. Party Pitch Planned.
• 3 Ways to Eliminate Public Speaking Anxiety (and other kinds of social anxiety)
• 8 Ideas for Establishing Yourself as a Leading Authority in Your Field
• Messy Presentations

Today’s topic in the Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People Video Blog Series is How to Organize Your Speech So YOur Audience Can Actually Use the Information.

This may seem totally elementary, but it is woefully disregarded way too often. I want to eliminate that possibility for you. Remarkable speeches are memorable because they have awesome content that people actually remember and use (plus other stuff we’ll talk about throughout the series.)

And for those of you (like me) who like to scan a post before you decide to invest in the video (or the meat of the content), here are the hi-lights to help you decide if you want to spend the 3.5 minutes on the video itself:

1. Too much information is overwhelming to your audience. People often give way too much information (thereby overwhelming the audience.) Let’s don’t have you do that, okay?
2. Choose three main points (or chunks, as I like to call it, even though it doesn’t seem all that appealing when I think about it) under ONE main idea (the title of your speech should reflect this one big focus area.)
3. Add compelling stories, super-specific tips, and exciting statistics or data to each of those main points only as they serve to further illustrate and amplify those main points.
4. Cover nothing beyond the main topic of this presentation and the three main points you have chosen. You will struggle to let go of “really great information” you want to share – let it go anyway. You will think the information you are leaving out is “really important” – leave it out anyway.

If you do all of this for real,  you’ll structure yourself a really powerful presentation (assuming the content is excellent quality.)

There’s more in the video, including an example to illustrate structure. As always, I invite your feedback, thoughts, ideas and suggestions. In particular, I’m wondering about your experience of seeing really great presentations that you remember well. What did they do with the structure that helped you take it all in? Do you use strategies I don’t mention here in your own presentations that we can all learn from?

If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

• Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People Series Intro & Overview
• Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People Series – Type-style
• Messy Presentations
• Lessons from Behind the Podium
• All Public Speaking is NOT Created Equal

I know that sometimes you just don’t want to watch a video. Maybe you’re at work and you don’t want others to hear that you are doing a little (educational!) blog-touring. Possibly you want to scan the info first, to see if it will be worth your time.

So, I’ve asked the excellent David Merrick (my guy for all things online-tech-marketing-ish) to help me translate the video posts into written blog posts, distilling it down to the essentials from the video, using my voice. I think he’s done a mighty fine job of it. So, here is the first translation of the intro video and the first content video in the series.

As always, I welcome your thoughts, feedback and suggestions. In particular, I’d love to know, do you have a preference between video & written? Or audio alone? Or a mix of all three?

Okay, here goes David’s summary of the videos:

I’d like to introduce our “Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People” video series!

I decided to create this series to help those of us who are not as well-known as Tony Robbins, Steve Jobs, but who do want to improve our content, delivery, and other aspects of great
speaking. Maybe you are just starting to get your message out into the world in a bigger way. Maybe you want to start speaking, but you’re really nervous. Maybe you don’t know where to start, or you’re not exactly sure how to structure a speech in a way that an audience can take it in readily, easily, and go use it to take action in the world. If so, this series is just for you!

In service of that, I’m going to give you several straight-up tips on:

public-speaking content structure, organization, delivery, research, and more.

I’m also going to venture out and see as many ordinary-ish speakers as I can over these next couple of months. I’ll share with you things that I see in their presentations, like suggestions and ideas that I can provide for you that will make your presentations even better. I’m doing this because I know that, at this very moment, a lot of ordinary people are out there making an extraordinary difference in the world by getting their message out there (and often creating more business in the process). I want that for you, too.

So that’s what this series is about, and I hope you’ll join me in this adventure! I’ll be regularly posting new articles and videos here on the Brazen Soul blog once or twice per week. I invite your comments, your ideas, your suggestions, and I hope that, together, we can all collectively add to the value of this “Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People” video blog series.

and the second video, on the OSU-Cascades brown bag lunch talk: “Why Not Gross National Happiness?”:

Welcome to the first video of our “Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People” video series!

I want to talk to you today about a presentation that I recently attended at our local college campus, OSU-Cascades, called “Why Not Gross National Happiness?”. It centered around the question of why we’re using production and productivity, instead of well-being and happiness, as a measure of our success as a society. All in all, the presentation was excellent, and I’m going to discuss the aspects that were really great about it as well as a few ways that the presenter could have delivered a more powerful presentation.

In service of those two goals, I’m going to discuss

what made the content of the presentation so appealing,

and then

what he could’ve done with his visual aid (presentation slides) to make a stronger connection with his audience.

On Content…

The presentation’s content was great because he fully flavored it with all of the appeals– ethos (credibility), logos (logical), and pathos (emotional). He cited credible academic journals with peer-reviewed research by other experts in the fields of psychology, economics, and the effects of financial success on well-being and happiness. He used his own experience, which, on top of its inherent ethos (credibility) appeal, helped to bring us closer to him as an audience. Boosting his credibility also added to the logical appeals in the content of his presentation. Perhaps most importantly, he provided emotional appeals as well with pictures that were very compelling, including one of chickens that were crammed into a pen as he discussed how this was “cage-free” chicken raising actually looks like in practice.

On presentation slides…

The presentation was great, but could’ve been made better through his presentation slide choices. He used slides–lots of slides–which can be dangerous to public-speaking if the presentation slides aren’t done right. Presentations slides are a tool to emphasize a point that you’re making, to amplify your presentation. In many cases in this context, they did, (as in the case of the image of the chickens) but several of
them were jam-packed with words.

When your slides have lots of words, people (including you as the presenter) shift focus to those slides and you lose that vital connection between presenter and audience. The way that
you make meaningful impact in the world, in almost all aspects of interaction, is connection. When all of you are staring at the presentation slides, you miss that critical opportunity for eye-contact and connection with your audience.

This loss of connection negatively impacts your presentation in a couple of ways. First, you lose out on
the feedback that the audience is giving you. You don’t know if they’re telling you “Yes, I’m
understanding what you’re saying,” by nodding their heads or smiling -  or “No, I don’t get it,” by way of furrowed brows and head shaking. This is essential feedback for you as a speaker to act on. It gives you the signal to better explain a point if everyone looks confused, or to exclude extra explanations or stories if it appears that everyone understands. You also lose out on the potential power of your visual aid because a wordy slide doesn’t look as nice or have the same impact as a powerful image or a slide with a few large, carefully chosen words.

For truly magnificent presentation slide design, I highly recommend using the guidelines Garr Reynolds provides in his fantastic book, Presentation Zen (affiliate link). Essentially, he advises six words or less per slide if at all possible and a big, powerful image that amplifies what you’re saying so each member of your audience can feel the emotional impact and better connect with you. That’s what you want for powerful presenting.

I hope those two tips about the public-speaking presentation content and presentation slides help you in your next presentation.

Until next time, lovely day to you!If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

• Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People Series Intro & Overview
• Organizing Your Speech So Your Audience Can Actually Use the Information (Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People Video Blog Series)
• Messy Presentations
• All Public Speaking is NOT Created Equal
• Lessons from Behind the Podium

I spent this past week on an unexpected trip to California. My mom was sick – she is on the upswing now – and I needed to be there to help figure out who could help her get better. I am pretty tapped out on hospitals, ERs and insurance company paperwork at this point. At the same time, I am profoundly aware of the gifts they all were in this confusing medical adventure we went through. More on that later – there were many surprisingly relevant experiences to share from all that.

But for now, I want to talk about this freight train I saw as I was making the 6-hour drive home. Check out that train. Isn’t it beautiful? I was totally struck by the colors and artistry on every single car on that train. What I thought to myself was, “Man, our drive for self-expression is so intense!” Because it is.

I get it that it’s illegal to paint those train cars. I’m not here to comment on the legal thing, either way. I’m here to scream from the rooftops: You must be heard! (Isn’t that ironic?)

Here’s the thing: If you are a creative person (and really, who isn’t, whether they self-identify or not?) it is essential to your health and well-being that you find your modus creativitando (mode of creative expression – no, that last word isn’t a real word, but I like the way it words with modus.) We know this from happiness research (especially if you are American), we know this from mental health experts, and we know this from people who tell us how much better their life is now that they’ve started living from their center of self-expression (like here and here.) Those people who risk their freedom (they could go to jail, you know… or get a fine, or whatever) just to express their artistic talent and message on the side of a train, they have this figured out. The bummer is, they aren’t making any money off of this. They still have to pay bills somehow. The nirvana is marrying your modus creativitando (yep) and your paycheck (in a legal way that doesn’t jeopardize your freedom to enjoy your freedom) and making big stuff happen in the world. Some people argue that you don’t need to get paid to do what you love, but I can’t help but think that is the only way to make the hugest mark in the world for most of us.

Meantime, if it’s a start for you and gets you off your tookus toward living your greatest self-expression, find a freight car to paint (but since I officially do not condone illegal behavior in any way, please ask permission first. Or whatever.)If you like this article, I bet you’ll also like…

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If you are NOT a professional public speaker – maybe you’re just starting out in your public-speaking adventure, or you are just really nervous or want a refresher on the fundamentals of great presentations (with some truly new and different angles on powerful speaking at any level of experience), this series is created precisely for you. More details here in this overview video: (be sure to scroll down to the first content post below as well!)

Remarkable Speaking for Ordinary People Video Blog Series Intro from Michelle Barry Franco on Vimeo.

And now for the promised First-Ever post of the series, let’s dive right in and talk about great content & engaging use of presentation slides using the talk I attended today at OSU-Cascades called “Why Not Gross National Happiness?”:
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