Sarah Elkins

7 years ago · 1 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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Still Have Doubts?

Still Have Doubts?

de936e36.jpgIt was 10 o'clock the night before my presentation. My stomach was in knots -- mostly the good kind -- as I reviewed my notes one more time. The material was perfect for me, I knew I had great experience with the topic, and I had spent some real time putting together the presentation. It was solid. I knew the topic well, and I was sure my audience would greatly benefit. It would be my third presentation for this group in 10 months, and the participants were welcoming, encouraging and engaged at the previous two sessions.

But still...

I texted the organizer to ask if she had the final count of registrations.

"31, but plan on 40"

My response: "That seems good. Is that average?"

"25 is average, Sarah. You draw a crowd."

I grinned, full of relief and excitement.

So why do I still have these doubts? Why does that teen self-consciousness come back to haunt me? No matter how many times I do trainings and presentations, no matter how many times I get on a stage to perform for an audience, I still find myself with these doubts.

What if no one shows up?

What if they don't like me?

What if I don't make them laugh and help them learn something?

A while back, I read an interview of a famous musician. She said that she STILL gets those butterflies in her stomach before she takes the stage. And then she said this: "I'm glad, because as soon as those butterflies go away, I'll know I'm done."

There's another reference to the understanding that a bit of nervousness and self-consciousness isn't necessarily a bad thing, my friend Whitney Johnson's P/E ratio. You know that feeling that you're going to be sick, but you're so excited that you couldn't possibly turn back? It's your Puke/Excitement ratio telling you you're about to jump out of your comfort zone.

So here I am, following a wonderfully successful presentation, about to perform at two wedding receptions this weekend, and my P/E ratio is still going strong. I've decided that's a good thing. Not only does it keep me on my toes, I know I'm stepping out of my comfort zone again, which means I'm not stagnant. Not even a little bit.

Here's the musical inspiration for today! (Added by request.) 

Tom Catmull, Hole in Her Head


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Comments

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #11

#20
You're right, Donna-Luisa Eversley, it's all about actually caring about your audience!

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #10

#21
You're right, Zach Messler, and your voice is often in my head when I'm about to do something out of my comfort zone. I'll share a recent story about that very soon and I'll bet you'll laugh. Thanks for the encouragement, as always.

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #9

#22
It's weird, Kevin Pashuk; when I am planning a presentation I feel nervousness the night before and at the beginning, and then I find myself feeling more natural and relaxed. But when I'm performing musically, I am usually quite calm right up until about the middle of the first song, and then I find my knees knocking! Performance in front of an audience has so much in common, no matter what the medium, but I find my body and stress are very different depending on whether I'm speaking or singing. Is that weird? Thanks for the comment!

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #8

#17
Just for you, Martina, I added a link of my friend Tom Catmull and his song Hole in Her Head.

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #7

#15
Good addition to the discussion, Joanna Hofman) that I'm not putting 100% effort into the activity, or it's not really out of my comfort zone so I'm not necessarily being challenged. Thanks for commenting!

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #6

#13
Totally get that, Gert Scholtz, thanks for the comment!

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #5

#9
That is the big difference, isn't it, Steven Brooks? The out of control potential for the P/E ratio? When I'm feeling that, I back off immediately. I completely trust my intuition about that sort of thing!

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #4

#8
Thanks, Don Kerr. Whitney's book, Disrupt Yourself, was one of my most recent big inspirations. I highly recommend it. I love that "I was about to do a crap performance" because I've been there for sure!

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #3

#4
Right. I don't have any pictures from this session yet, Alan Geller, so I used the photo from my last session with this organization. (See my comment #6 for details.)

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #2

#3
Thanks, Aaron Skogen. We have talked about that a bit, haven't we? Particularly in reference to high school and how differently we perceived ourselves from how our peers perceived us. That picture is actually from my previous session with the same organization; that topic was Leaping Out of Your Comfort Zone and I had everyone stand up in their version of a Wonder Woman pose, a la Amy Cuddy. I use that A LOT.

Sarah Elkins

7 years ago #1

#2
Thank you for the comments, Julie Hickman. I love that P/E term; Whitney has been inspiring me for years!

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