When I started my speaking business a few years ago I may have had some very unrealistic ideas in my mind of the impact I would have.
I used to think about speaking to audiences of hundreds or maybe even up to a thousand or more.
That is something I still dream about but my perspective on my audiences has changed.
It started to change when I was less than a year into this still evolving speaking business.
I was asked to speak to a group of job seekers at a job networking group that I was told was quite well attended.
While I didn’t expect there to even be a hundred people there I anticipated at least fifty or more.
Trust me when I say my disappointment level was off the charts when a grand total of six people showed up.
SIX!
Why did I even bother? I should just pack up my computer and head home. This wasn’t going to be worth my time.
The leader of the group came to me a few minutes before we were to start and apologized profusely for the low turn out. He had no idea why there were so few people in attendance.
If you know about my self-talk struggles you can guess I was thinking the low turnout was because of me.
The leader told me he knew my message would be good for those in attendance and that he was glad I was there and felt bad for those who didn’t come.
I decided to suck it up and do my talk for the six that were there.
It felt really weird to be doing my presentation to six people. It was a large room with space for at least a couple hundred. Chairs were set up for about 75.
The six that were there were spaced out in the first three rows with no one in the first row. Typical.
When I was done everyone there came and thanked me for what I had to say and two people stuck around for longer conversations.
The second lady was in tears as she told me that my message was just what she needed to hear. She was greatly discouraged and had been for several weeks. She wasn’t even going to come that night but was encouraged by a friend to come because you just never know what might happen.
She was going to begin to make some changes in her job search because of what she had heard from me that night.
I learned a huge lesson that night.
My desire to speak to large audiences and have a huge impact was all about me.
While that wasn’t my intention when I started out it had evolved into being more about me than about my audience.
Even though there were only six people there that night I know I made a huge difference for one.
I know it’s cliché but I have learned that if I can make a difference in the life of just one person who hears me at any given presentation I have made a difference.
Recently, I spoke to a group of about 200 or so people in the agriculture industry. This was new territory for me but I was excited by the challenge.
Since that audience of six I have started a new practice before going out to speak. Each time I pray that my message will make a difference for one person. I pray that God would speak through me and make a difference for someone.
After my presentation that day I had a few brief conversations with several people telling me they appreciated and enjoyed what I had to say. These were very nice, generic comments that I appreciated hearing.
Then a lady came up to me who didn’t look very healthy. Her handshake was very gentle and her voice was very soft. She told me she was battling cancer and my message was a great encouragement to her. She said she really needed to hear what I had to say.
Here I am speaking to a mostly male audience of farmers and ag-related industry people. My message has been tailored to the challenges facing the ag industry today.
And yet, one of the people my message impacts is someone battling cancer.
We all have been born with special gifts, talents and abilities. I used to think these gifts, talents and abilities were for me. I now know these gifts, talents and abilities are for the people we encounter in our every day lives.
Do you ever get frustrated when things aren’t going quite the way you think they should? How about when you think you’re not being used properly or appropriately in your work or life?
I encourage you to have the courage to see every interaction as an opportunity to impact those around you.
Take the time to focus on each person in your day as if they are the most important person in the world because, at that very time, they are.
Have the courage to make a difference for just one.
You just never know the impact you will have.
Hebrews 13:2
Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
Dave,
Always inspirational. Thank you for the gentle reminder! We forget that we do have an impact on people be it positive or negative. You really have to “be with” to give the postive!
Thanks for the feedback, Patti! All too often I find myself disengaged with people and am working to be in the moment with them!
Dave, what an invaluable lesson is taught here…..patience, caring, sharing of yourself, and as you blog, and speak and interact with your audience, these are great tools. Something I have always tried to do and it seems most times there is a reward, Smile at people as they walk toward you, simple yet effective way to communicate friendliness and caring toward others. And who knows, that person just might need a Smile Hug….and it cost nothing for you to share! Blessings!!
Your simple gesture of smiling, Craig, can truly make a difference in someone’s life. We just never know what someone else is faced with when we cross their path and it’s better to lift them up with a smile than add another burden to their day through rudeness or flippancy!