I\u2019m off to meet another challenge. I seem to be accepting more and more of them, at an age when most of my peers are retired and relaxing.<\/p>\n
Today, I\u2019ll be speaking to a group of non-writers on a subject unrelated to writing\/publishing. Outside my comfort zone, for sure.<\/p>\n
So what do you do when people know you speak and they want to book you to speak to their group, but their group isn\u2019t interested in your typical topic? I guess you either decline or you come up with a related topic\u2014something along the same lines, perhaps\u2014something that you know.<\/p>\n
In my situation, first I accepted the challenge\u2014I mean the invitation. (It involves a free lunch and some girl talk, after all.) Then I began thinking about my topic. Finally, yesterday, while I was out walking, it occurred to me. These people aren\u2019t writers, but many of them are surely readers (or have been at some point in their lives). So I decided to talk about books and what goes into them.<\/p>\n
What does go into a book? In most cases, a lot of emotion. And that is my planned topic for today. With this topic, I am staying within a fairly safe zone\u2014something I know well. My challenge now will be to give a presentation that is both organized and interesting. Sure, I have notes and I\u2019ve gone over them a few times. I\u2019ve also given some thought to my way of presenting. But one never knows how receptive the crowd will be. Many a speech has changed in mid-stream in order to appropriately engage an audience.<\/p>\n
My audience today will consist of folks residing in an assisted living facility. I\u2019m told that while there are a few who are cognizant, most only wander down to sit in on presentations because their family doesn\u2019t want them spending too much time in their rooms. A few will take a nap while I\u2019m speaking. There may be little feedback by way of facial expressions and heads-nodding in agreement. I understand that these people particularly do not like to participate\u2014so I\u2019m told not to ask questions or try to involve them in anyway.<\/p>\n
Sounds like tough crowd to me. Perhaps my most challenging, yet. But, remember, there is a lunch plate in it for me and a visit with long-time girlfriends. And, who knows, my effort just might make someone smile or think or consider knew possibilities. It would be wonderful if my talk would inspire even one person to start documenting his family history or go back to writing poetry. Maybe someone in the group will launch a facility newsletter for residents.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve learned over the years that one never knows how and when they might impact another human being. When we choose not to reach out for fear of ridicule or failure, we may be missing an opportunity to make a difference in our own lives and for someone else.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a> I\u2019m off to meet another challenge. I seem to be accepting more and more of them, at an age when most of my peers are retired and relaxing. Today, I\u2019ll be speaking to a group of non-writers on a subject unrelated to writing\/publishing. Outside my comfort zone, for sure. So what do you do when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"