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What makes a good public speaker? A strong voice? Lotsa guts? The gift of gab?
If you guessed any of these, you’d be right, but they’re the tip of the iceberg – literally, only the part you see. When I talk before a group, there’s much more involved, and since I’m flying across the country to keynote a women’s breakfast in California this week, I’m in the midst of it right now.
I need to write about this, if only to get it off my chest. There was a piece on Nightly News recently – actually, it aired on February 16 and has haunted me ever since. How do you know, Brian Williams asked, when the time comes to take the car keys away from elderly parents? Dr. Nancy Snyderman was the medical expert here, and she sited statistics on the number of auto accidents among elderly drivers. She also talked about why this happens – slow response, confusion, deteriorating spacial judgment, and so on. The focus of her piece, though, was an interview with a 94-year-old man who had made the decision, with his family’s approval, to limit his driving to daylight and his own neighborhood.
I fly often and am pretty immune to security demands, but yesterday was the worst. My husband and I were going through security at Reagan National in Washington, D.C. I had loaded the bins with my coat, my scarf, my boots, and my liquids. When I approached the scanner, the security guard (male) indicated that I should remove my sweater as well.
The sweater – oversized in that it fell to my thighs, but not thick – was my clothing. Beneath it, I wore thin leggings and an even thinner layering tee shirt. I would never, ever leave my house in the leggings and tee shirt alone.
Christmas was barely done when the media began rating 2011. Best movie of 2011, best health news of 2011, best business moment, best style trend … you name it, there’s a list. This was pretty much what inspired my survey this week – the one I post every Tuesday on my Facebook page. “My 2011?” it read. “I’d give it a 9 out of 10. SPEEDY BD SURVEY #85 asks, how about you? What’s your rating for 2011?”
I kid you not. It happened yesterday in West Hartford, Connecticut, where I did an UPLIFT signing at Lyn Evans Potpourri Designs.
Don’t know the name? If you live in New England, you likely do. There are eight of these stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut; they are specialty boutiques that carry chic clothes for women of all ages. I‘ve bought many things over the years in my local Potpourri, but had never been to the West Hartford one. Nor did I know that Lyn Evans, the owner, is devoted to doing charity events – in the case of UPLIFT, in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Talk about airport projects, I had tons of knitting time getting to Houston and back. Since there were no direct flights where the times worked for me, I had to go through Charlotte. Throw in a little extra time there, both in the terminal and in the air, and I might have gone nuts if it hadn’t been for my knitting.
But Houston was great! I love doing breast cancer events, and the timing of this one was perfect, what with the 10th Anniversary Edition of UPLIFT hot off the press.
Finally! The first time ever
paperback of my newest
is on sale.
Want to give it a try?
Amazon
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