An Important Speech
Last week I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker for Metrolina Christian Academy’s athletic kick-off for the 2023-2024 school year. First let me say how impressed I am with athletic director Ronnie Plyler, his coaches, and the parents and student-athletes of this incredible organization. They have created as healthy a culture as I have witnessed.
I really wanted to do a great job for Coach Plyler and felt an unusual burden and sense of urgency to add as much value as possible to the 500+ in attendance. As a result, I literally prepared about seven different speeches before settling on the subject of the importance of the fundamentals. A picture of the evening is shown above.
A Sudden Shift
As I was waiting to take the stage, Coach Plyler asked an eighth-grade girl to deliver a speech she had written. This young lady then proceeded to provide an extremely mature perspective on the subject of failure. I was ambushed by how insightful her words were. As she was speaking, I knew my message on fundamentals was no longer appropriate.
Coach Plyler complimented her speech and added his own views on the subject. He even coached the parents on how to handle situations when their child faces the disappointment of unmet expectations.
As he introduced me and welcomed me to the stage, I immediately pivoted to the subject of failure.
After briefly connecting with the audience, I opened with a Jurgen Klopp quote, “Failure is simply a data point to learn from.” I then gave a lesson on tennis superstar Rafael Nadal and the conditions he needed to meet before his uncle Toni would coach him. You can read those notes by clicking 4 Things All Up-And-Coming Leaders Must Be Willing To Learn.
I discussed my own personal failures when I was a high school student and how the principle of The Unblemished Lamb from Malachi 1 changed my life. I then finished with instructing the parents and students on how to be disqualified by a college recruiter or professional scout. You can read those notes by clicking 10 Things Talent Evaluators Look For In Potential Leaders.
All of these lessons came from my latest book Mighty: 7 Skills You Need to Move from Pandemic to Progress. Afterwards, I was able to get this book into dozens of the hands of those in attendance.
It was simply a wonderful, wonderful evening. It would truly be a privilege to be invited back and serve this incredible institution in the future.
The Lesson
The key learning I took from the evening was the importance of not only being prepared, but being over-prepared.
As someone who writes every day, I never have a shortage of content to choose from when I speak. The challenge I have when communicating is editing my content down to only that which would add the most value to the audience.
It isn’t about filling the time as a speaker, it’s about maximizing it.
Because I was over-prepared and had seven different messages ready to go, I was able to read the room and sense what was resonating with the crowd. On the fly, I combined two of the messages and delivered a speech on failure and the importance of reaching your full potential.
Do Not Be Confused
Do not be confused. This was not winging it or “he has spoken for so many years he can talk for 40-minutes about anything.”
Preparation allowed me the privilege of connection and not being pigeon-holed into answering questions no one was asking.
So next time you have to address a crowd of any size, over-prepare by writing. It does not have to be a website or newsletter like you are reading. Perhaps journaling would work best for you. Just write… a lot! You will have a large reservoir of content to choose from.
It will allow you to serve your audience and add the maximum amount of value.
My latest book Mighty: 7 Skills You Need to Move from Pandemic to Progress is available for purchase. Production. Passion. Resilience. Teamwork. Contentment. Courage. Faith. These seven skills were embodied over three thousand years ago by a group of elite warriors known as David’s Mighty Men. These highly-capable individuals helped take David, the man who had previously defeated Goliath, from a wilderness experience to leading a nation. Did 2020 feel like a wilderness experience for you? So many people lost loved ones, opportunities, financial resources, careers, time, and much, much more during COVID. The worst thing many people lost was hope. COVID stripped away the non-essentials in our lives. It revealed how foolish pride, ego, and narcissism are. It made us question almost everything in our lives, including God himself. COVID brought us all to our knees in one form or fashion. I want you to know the same skills used by David’s’ Mighty Men still work today. In my new book Mighty: 7 Skills You Need to Move from Pandemic to Progress, I show you how applying these skills can help you become Mighty and move from the Pandemic to Progress. Click HERE or on the image provided to order!