How goes it?

As we head into May I wanted to share a tip that has helped some of my really experienced speakers recently.

(Many of them have been creating new talks amidst a packed work schedule, and…life.)

COMMIT TO SIMPLE.

It can be so tempting when we’re curious, creative humans to start zigzagging into all kinds of possibilities – for our topic, our themes, our stories, our slides. 

And if you have the time and are enjoying your process, keep going.  I often love to create a new challenge, for my own fun and interest. That’s great. Like…What if I hand drew my slides for this talk? Or if I collaborated with another speaker on this one?  

If it’s keeping you engaged and levelling up, then do it. 

BUT….

There are also times when keeping things simple can make way more sense. And we still get to give a great talk. These are all questions I have asked different speakers recently:

1) What is your talk REALLY about. One thing. You don’t have to express it neatly to me as we talk, but let’s zoom in on one main point.

2) Out of these 26 slides, which 3 would you choose to keep? There’s no wrong answer. Let’s make the choice right now, in the next minute. (You can always add more back in, but the question cuts right through the clutter.)

3) What 3 things did you learn from that experience that you’d want to share with your audience? And of that 3, which one do you think might benefit this audience most?

From all of these places, it’s no problem to add more nuance, or weave in interesting diversions.

But if you’re ever feeling frazzled, overwhelmed, unclear or short of time – don’t be afraid to go simple!

I have to remind myself of this too😊 

I’ll leave you for nowwith a very curious lady who comes to visit me daily. I believe she’s a guinea fowl? She taps on the glass door, I look up from my desk, wave and say ‘Hello lady!’ She makes my day.