I have some teacher friends – well, I know some teachers and I suspect under light torture (like withholding their chalk allowance3) they will grudgingly admit to knowing me – so I’ve heard them remark nothing teaches you about a subject like trying to teach it. I’ve been preparing for my upcoming Speaker Training classes; so I’m learning the truth of this expression first hand.
It’s one thing to feel totally confident drafting a presentation, practising it over and over, and finally delivering it to an audience either large or small. But it’s a different thing all together to package up those skills that come so naturally for me so others can learn them.
I’m not one who likes teachers who use “Because that’s how we do things around here.” It’s fortunate then that what I’m trying to teach is backed by science. Who knew? That’s the great thing: as I’m learning how to explain how to give great presentations, I’m learning even more about giving great presentations.
I promise not to bore everyone with talk of testosterone, cortisol, square waves, and other nerdy stuff, but it’s science. You can’t argue with science4.
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Chalk allowances are a thing of the past. back in the day when my cousins taught Jr. High School they had to buy all their own supplies. This included mimeograph ink and paper. When we finally start treating and paying educators like they are responsible for the most important things in the world (our children) we’ll go a long way to fixing our problems. ↩
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I guess you can if you’re a Republican, but then you’re just a dipshit. ↩