In June I entered a program called New Wave at the University of New South Wales focused on entrepreneurship (for graduates and students). I learnt much and also had the opportunity to pitch the Alianza for funding. It was great opportunity to practice public speaking and although the video has not been made public, is the link, exclusively for my blog followers. I’d like to do a TED talk one day so I still have much to learn but practice is crucial step towards improvement.
4+ minute speech plus question time – (it goes on to other speeches)
I’m getting more opportunities to speak at different events and have 6 workshops/small talks booked over the next 3 months. I have been invited to give a workshop in the PDM Alliance conference in October in DC (USA) and I will also make a quick trip to Peru at the same time.
But for now I have about 3 weeks left in biostatistics and a big assignment to conquer before I can say I finished my masters subjects and can focus on my research and preparing for my talks and trip.
I have been invited to speak at a worldwide online summit (conference called INSIGHT into Parkinson’s 2020. I am honoured and have been thinking about what could encourage others with Parkinson’s Disease. I am preparing and want to practice soon. Exciting!
My photo and profile appears on the speakers list.
I even got invited to another conference to speak via LinkedIn but I think they just do that as a marketing tool to get people along to the conference related to Parkinson’s. Plus the email called me DR Christine Jeyachandran so as you know I am not a Doctor, so I don’t think I can live up to those expectations.
But the INSIGHT Summit is for real. I met Mel, (Melissa McConaughy) the event founder in 2016 when I signed up to do training for Parkinson’s Warrior. This is a set of exercises that help improvement of People with Parkinson’s (PWP) and I bumped into Mel again in Japan at the World Parkinson’s Congress, and she invited me to be a part of Insight 2020.
I have become an advocate for exercise which is something I would never have imagined doing. I just see so many benefits for myself and for others, so I can’t help but tell everyone how it has helped me. I won’t explain all my improvements here but recently my coach mentioned my posture had improved which is something I had not realised. It is nice to make progress. I still would like to make a before and after video about taking up gymnastics to fight the Parkinson’s disease.
Anyone interested in attending the INSIGHT Conference online can follow the link. All tickets are donations to Parkinson’s Research. https://www.insightintopd.com/speakers/
Was feeling a bit sick this day so lay in bed reading this book. Love it.
I really love TED talks and I found a book on a friend’s shelf “How to deliver a TED talk”. I quickly asked to borrow it. I have always enjoyed public speaking and inspired by the book I drafted a talk about “an idea worth spreading” which is the catchphrase of TED. I’m giving a talk next week so it is perfect timing.
As I kept reading I now see many changes that need to be made, but I knew If I didn’t draft it today I would forget all the good advice from the book.
The first tip that stood out was you need a catchphrase, summarising your main idea(s) ideally short 3-12 words, action centric and include word repetition, rhythm or even poetry. Not all are possible at once but it should be repeated various times.
The second tip I really liked was that you need to catch your audience’s attention in the first 30 seconds. If not, it’s really hard later. There are extensive list of how to do this but I won’t give it all away (Jeremey Donovan wouldn’t like that)
There are lots of tips to fine tune my talk but for me this time the stakes are not as high as doing a real TED talk. But this leads to the next tip I am following already. You need lots of real life practice to get good at public speaking. Without this it is unlikely you’ll get on TED. But that said it is not about being an expert speaker, but a passionate expert in your particular area.
You can nominate yourself to be on TED but if others do, it is even better.
I am excited now to improve my public speaking skills so will continue to take opportunities to share “my idea worth sharing” (that’s another blog post).
I’d love share in your community or church group or Parkinson’s group. I’ll be in Australia from June to August. Other locations could be harder but you never know, I love to travel.
I better get back to writing my speech for World Parkinson’s Day on 11th April which will be in Spanish. This is no easy task in another language. I’ll need even longer to practice and memorise this one. I better get to work.
PS. I am attempting to move all media to name: Handstand for Parkinson’s (often without apostrophe). I am told this is better – uniformity. A work in progress as it is a bit mixed.
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