I was at a shoot today, filming my small part in the Voices of 2014 eLearning Bloggers’ Masterclass (look at all the little mes up there!). Like my freak out about Problogger, these things are always completely nerve-wracking to me, but over the years I’ve learned some neat tricks for steadying my nerves when I’m ‘on show’:
1. Focus on after the event – how you’ll feel when you’ve finished what you set out to do.
2. Prepare most things, but not all things – leave yourself some room to breathe.
3. Pretend you’re just having a chat with a friend – if there’s an audience, I seek out three or four open, friendly faces at different points around the room and talk directly to them. If there is no audience, I think of someone like Pip Lincolne (who has the nicest, most friendliest face of anyone I know) and pretend I’m talking to her.
4. Plan to relax once you’ve started speaking – there is no chance you can fight the panic before you begin, but every chance you will feel much better once you get started.
5. Pause often and be in the moment – a planned pause makes you feel much more in control.
6. Enjoy it – being out on show is a different kind of rush and it deserves to be savoured. Otherwise, why put yourself out there at all?
Mostly I worry about my appearance and whether I’ll talk too fast. As it happens, I always think I look absolutely dreadful and I always talk much too fast, so… no point worrying about either of those things then, right?
Speaking of kids’ craft (because we were, weren’t we?), if your kids are into loom bands, you might like to try the loom band organiser I made this week. Because apparently if you make one, you’ll be “always loomy, never gloomy”. I amuse myself, I really do.
Other things that had me this week:
Reading – Midwives by Chris Bohjalian: I always seem to love a female character written by a man…
Writing – about our everyday go bag.
Making – see above. My husband won’t stop teasing me about being looming loopy.
Wishing – I was invited to stunning events like this or this. Sigh x 100.
Loving – writing my Spring Through Life series… I have so many springy things planned!
Wondering – why it’s always my fault when the hat isn’t in the school bag.
Happiest of happy birthdays to my fellow Rewind host, Sonia B. Man, I wish, wish, wish I was turning 30 today, Son!!
Happy reading.
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