What did you say?

Let me start this post by giving credit where’s it’s due…thank you to all of my followers both official and unofficial for getting my blog to 15,000 views! It is great to know that my writing, however trivial or heartfelt each entry is, is out there and being read. I appreciate you! I do have a new giveaway coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that. I hope to post it sometime this week – and I will tell you that it’s something I’ve come to love in my own life, and I’m excited to give one of my readers the chance to have one as well. Oh secrets. : ] This is fun.

If you ask my friends, family, or even people who have met me once – most of them will describe me as outgoing, (too) loud, bubbly, etc. But the truth is, I have never loved to public speak. Give me a captive dinner table audience or a bible study of 10 girls and I can keep the conversation flowing all day and night. Stand me in front of a crowd and suddenly I’m babbling incoherently, pacing, and sweating! I don’t know what it is about going from 15-20 people to 50+ that changes the entire dynamic for me. It feels less like a conversation and more like a performance and I’ve never been good at those.

College speech class was surprisingly one of my favorite classes, despite the fact that giving speeches was completely out of my comfort zone. I had this incredible teacher that was so uplifting and encouraging. I worked for hours on my speeches and I practiced them in front of anyone who would listen trying to learn to slow and just let my thoughts flow. I never mastered that and each of my speech ‘reviews’ read: slow down! I suppose this is where my love for writing comes into play. Even though more people read my blog than I’ve ever given a speech too, I can write to you as though I’m having a conversation with an old friend and express myself without having a mild panic attack.

I recently had a conversation with a sweet, soft-spoken young lady I was encouraging towards a leadership position in our church. She expressed her fear of talking in front of other people being that she’s so quiet natured. What I recognized about her that inspired the conversation however, is that she is one of the unique people who despite a lack of volume, when she speaks people shut up and listen to what she has to say. Good leaders aren’t always grandiose in their delivery or eloquent in their speech. Being heard is about being respected and having something of value and honesty to say.

I’m inspired by such people. I’ve never had trouble being heard, mostly due to vocal cords that pack a punch! My sister once told me that I should never be allowed to hold a microphone as I have one ‘built in’. I recognize that having a quiet voice of wisdom that can quiet a crowd with its sincerity is worth far more than being able to talk over a crowd to be heard. I have learned so much about leadership in the past few years and I hope that those around me are seeing me grow in several aspects as I seek to be a better leader, not by force but by being a servant.

Love,

B