Stepping Up to the Plate

Image courtesy of Microsoft

Every now and then, we have to do something at work or at school that makes us feel a little uncomfortable. For many of us, that task has something to do with public speaking or doing a presentation in front of a bunch of people. This happened to me today at my business-networking luncheon. To my surprise, I found myself more excited than nervous about getting up there and talking to the other members of the Network Referral Group of Santa Clarita about one of my favorite things to do: handwriting analysis. 

Last week, I volunteered to do presentation when another member discovered he couldn’t attend the meeting. The topic was an easy choice for me, since I already spent the previous Sunday afternoon doing handwriting analyses at Happy Pets veterinary practice. One of my friends and NRG partners is a veterinarian and owner of the practice; I accepted donations for a slush fund that helps financially strapped clients pay for veterinary care in exchange for a brief handwriting analysis. I knew this topic would be interesting and entertaining for the other NRG members to learn about since we all write (or print) in our professions. Furthermore, most people are curious about themselves. Handwriting is a great way to tell a lot about someone’s personality in a short time and with very little effort on the part of the writer or the handwriting analyst (me).

One of the things I learned and have always remembered from the Public Speaking class in my hypnotherapy certification was how to stay confident and relaxed during a presentation. I can still remember how George Kappas, M.A., C.Ht., the director of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, gave my class that pep talk about this topic. He encouraged us to look forward to every opportunity to promote our hypnotherapy practice this way, reminding and reassuring us that we would know a lot more about this topic (hypnosis) than anyone else in the room. We would be the experts in the room and should “own” the topic with confidence, he enthused. And then the final zinger: We already knew so much about this field that there was no reason for any of us to even need notes during this kind of presentation, except perhaps the briefest topic guideline. 

So when I went to the front of the room this afternoon, I did not really need to think about which material I would present during the next ten minutes or so that were allotted to me. I had a few props to help me: a printed handout for everyone to describe the writing features I examine and a white board to provide “illustrations” of those characteristics. While I held a copy of the handout in my hand for quick reference, I only glanced at it once to determine which material I felt I needed to cover in the remaining minute of my talk. Then, I invited questions and even did an impromptu mini-analysis of someone’s writing before the meeting was adjourned.

And George Kappas was right: I didn’t need notes, after all, and I did have a lot of fun doing the presentation about a topic I know so well. If necessary, I would be happy to step up again to do another presentation about some aspect of my work as a hypnotherapist. Indeed, I’m already getting ideas about what I can talk about next time. I can’t wait!

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

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