Me speaking to the eager marketing students at BCIT

Public speaking infront of a group of critical strangers is universally mans’ greatest fear. Personally, I used to share echo this sentiment. I’ll admit it’s something I’ve avoided when possible. I’m not completely frightened per say — in the past I just didn’t feel comfortable speaking in front of a group of people whom I don’t know. My public speaking nerves take over.

Part of my apprehension is value based. If I didn’t have much to contribute, (translation: who cares what some dumbass like me has to say?) why potentially embarrass myself in front of a group of strangers? The risk-reward didn’t seem to check out… Much like how terrified I was starting this blog.

I firmly believe in not talking for the sake of talking – only speak when you truly have something to ‘say.’

The issue is vulnerability — we struggle to step outside the comfort and safety of our daily routines to which we can control.

A transformation

I’ve come to realise I’m in a somewhat unique situation (narcissistic rant coming). I’ve accomplished my goal of startimg a career the social media landscape — making the transformation from full-time amateur athlete / student to working at a upstart tech company.

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The cool thing about self-education is that it is a matter of choice. Everything rests firmly on the shoulders of the individual.  There are no barriers to entry, applications or GPA restrictions. Desire and drive are two key necessities for mastery through self-education. Intrinsic motivation is an extremely powerful cognitive process. That is why self-education is 100% what you make it.

My Self-Education

I wrote a bit in the past about my self-education efforts to date. These range from simply reading books to attending seminars and conferences on social media. Recently I have been getting a bit more creative with my education. I want to talk a bit about two different approaches I’ve been using  in the hopes that some of you will be inspired to try them out.

Online Twitter Conversations

Twitter or social media may not be your thing. Hear me out.

If you have ever come across someone spamming your twitter timeline with a bunch of annoying random answers to questions followed by the same stupid hashtag, they are likely deep into a twitter chat. A Twitter chat is an online conversation hosted by an individual or company where a group of tweeters share insight on a pre-selected topic. The chat is structured by the host who provides questions, moderates and progresses the conversation from one question to the next.

The host often recruits an expert on the topic as their co-host. Free professional advice!

The chats take advantage of the hashtag search feature on twitter, allowing the conversation to be organized and followed in a linear fashion. The beauty of these conversations is the versatility. How else can  a community of passionate contributors from around the world be assembled for an intellectual conversation?

There are twitter chats on just about every subject. You just have to do some digging and research to find the date and time.

I realize that some may see this conversation medium as impersonal and retarded. You are mistaken. I’ve been doing a few of these twitter chats per week. The diverse audience provides insight that you would never find in a real time conversation anywhere else.

Meetups

A meetup is a group meeting organized online through social media on a specific topic.  Like twitter chats, there are meetup groups for everything.  Two weeks ago, I came across a message about a meetup called Internet Masterminds. Internet Masterminds is a meetup about marketing, social media, career and social networking.  They have a guest speaker every week.

I showed up to my first #IMgroup meetup having no idea what to expect. Slightly less nerves while signing in compared to my last networking event. However, the nerves came roaring back when I was asked to make a quick introduction to the group. I have high threshold for pain, no fear of spiders or competition, but public speaking scares me. Public speaking in front of a group of 75 strangers is petrifying. I thought back to my grade eight public speaking class. Strike a power pose and make eye contact.

Somehow I managed to tell my story without too much stuttering. What a miracle.

I’ve been to two meetups so far.  The most practical information I have learned about social media have come from these meetups. If you’re looking to learn about or meet people in an industry, a meetup is a perfect way to kill two birds with one rock.

The only issue with my self-education is my real education. Midterm week makes blogging tough.

Have you attended a meetup or twitter chat? Any creative self-education secrets for me? Post a comment!