Upcoming Events
Typically I would be kicking myself for not posting another design today, but today was a very unusual day.
First off, it’s the first Monday of the new year so everything I’ve been needing to get done business wise had to be done TODAY. Not tomorrow, not yesterday – TODAY!
So amid getting all of that “stuff” done, I suddenly looked at the calendar and realized something big.
Something really big. Monumental. Astronomically huge.
1 week from today – Next Monday the 11th of January, I will be holding my very first lecture / trunk show!
Just in case you will be traveling in North Carolina at the time, I will be speaking to the Cabarrus Quilters Guild in Concord, NC, which is just north of Charlotte, NC.
To be honest, I’m feeling both “Yay!” and “Yikes!” at the same time.
I really didn’t realize it was this soon. Seriously, I thought I had another week or two, but suddenly I feel like I’m staring down the barrel of a very short gun.
While it may seem extremely odd that I can stand in front of a camera and not lose my head, it’s entirely different in front of real people.
A camera isn’t judgmental, doesn’t frown at me or make me nervous. Real, live people definitely do.
Hahaha! While I know it’s silly to get freaked out, I’m still going to freak out a little cause I can’t help it.
So my solution for not totally bombing my first lecture / trunk show?
Well, of course I’m going to practice it a few times. I’ll run through it once on my own and once for my family to judge the time and how many quilts I can get through in 1 hour.
Practice always makes perfect and I want to make sure I can get through my early quilts quickly so there’s more than enough time to talk about the later quilts.
And then to deal with nerves at the actual event, I’m going to bring my camera and film the whole thing.
I hope I can just pretend I’m on camera, recording a video like normal and forget about all the people in the room.
So that’s the upcoming event for January if you happen to be lucky enough to live in NC, please come on down for a visit. I’d sure love to see ya!
Let’s go quilt!
Leah Day
Wish I could make it to see the trunk show. You will do an awesome job!
I remember my first trunk show and the nerves:) You will do great and filming it is wonderful for debriefing…wish I had been able to do the same.
Good Luck!!
Good luck!!!
Oh my goodness! I LIVE in Concord! And I've been planning on JOINING that Guild! And I've been planning on GOING to that meeting to join-up! Now I'll DEFINITELY be there!!!
And if you start to be nervous, Leah, just tell yourself that these people are basically just like you. Only they don't quilt as well as you do. =-)
Seriously? I've been to this Guild twice, and it's a group of very nice people (including a few men!). I don't like being in crowds all that much, but they all seemed very nice, and I felt comfortable. You'll do fine.
Nobody's going to bite you!
=-)
Don't freak out about your trunk/quilt show, quilters are some of the nicest, most helpful, peaceful, caring, mentoring people I know. Relax, be yourself and enjoy.
I'm very very sure you will do a great job at the trunk show – you have so so much great advice to share and at the show you'll be able to back everything up with your quilts, samples, demo etc – just have fun and enjoy sharing with fellow quilters, just 'blog' in person.
We will all look forward to hearing about it when you return.
You'll be fine! Remember to breath! AND relax, it has to be enjoyable for you as well as the audience 🙂 Good luck!
Dear Lea – Good luck. i'm sure you'll do a great job. remember – this is even better than filming yourself by video – here you'll be surroundd by people who already love you and think highly of you. reading your blog daily i feel like an old friend, even from far Israel, those quilters will sure feed the same.
we'll send you positive thougnt, just in case….
The first time I had to speak in public (about 25 years ago) I was a nervous wreck. My boss gave me some great advice – Tell your audience that you are a little nervous, since you have never spoken if front of such a large audience before. Once you do that you have nothing to "hide" and the nerves will disappear. And remember, you have prepared for the talk well and you are the ultimate expert on your subject matter since they are your creations and you have been living with them for years. At the end of the talk, when everyone claps like mad and you get a standing ovation, you will feel the same thrill that you did when you got your first ribbon.
My early attempts at public speaking (all school or church related) were difficult. I would be nervous and my voice would shake. I thought I hated it! When I entered the work world, my career path led me to software companies. I had been with that first company several years when I was called on to do some training. I was surprised when I opened my mouth to talk to groups about topics I really knew, and found that I had a talent for that kind of public speaking. Today, even though I am kinda shy one-on-one, I can talk to hundreds of people without fear. There is no secret. For me it was the difference between giving a prepared "speech" and explaining something I know well. Talking about a topic you know well is very different from giving a speech on a topic you researched for the speech. You KNOW your topic and that is the key. Have an outline in mind, and really talk to the people in the room, and I bet you will be okay.
Here are a few other tidbits.
I think most new public speakers tend to try to talk too fast and say too much. Listeners appreciate a little less info at a pace they can keep up with.
Have a way to check the time without being too obvious. A travel alarm on a lecturn is my favorite.
Divide your lecture material into quarters. When you are a quarter of the way through your lecture material, check whether you are a quarter of the way through your time. Are you going too fast, too slow or are you just right? If needed, add or omit details from the next quarter of your lecture to get back on track. Check the time after you complete each quarter of your material.
I hope this helps.
Lisa
Something perhaps you don't know about me… I ran in several elections here in my city, and as a result of the televised debates, I got to be a local pundit on a teevee show here in town. It took me awhile to get used to not freaking out in front of the camera or in front of town hall crowds for the debates, but something our party leader told me really rang true when I told him I was nervous… he said "Jo, you can't screw up because you ARE Green (my party), so everything that comes out of your mouth will be Green."
Leah, you are a damned fine quilter and instructor. You can't screw up… it's impossible for you to screw up because all you are doing is spreading the word of what you already do and do so well… it's a no brainer. It's like teaching James how to speak… you can't muss it up because English is your first language… LOL Quilting is your first language so to speak, so anything you stand up there and say will be music to the ears of the folks in attendance.
((hugs)) good luck and break a leg. I mean a foot. I mean a darning foot. LOL
I'm sure you'll do well. I'd be in the front row if I lived anywhere close. You have a great product in your techniques and your personality. Good Luck!