Speaking to Win: The Blog
Public Speaking in Eternal September: Every Speech You Give Is A Moment Of New Possibility!
WHAT IS ETERNAL SEPTEMBER?
I thought this blog today about Eternal September by Seth Godin was really fantastic! I had never heard of the concept of Eternal September before. The term was first used by Dave Fischer in a January 26, 1994,
| “ | It’s moot now. September 1993 will go down in net.history as the September that never ended. | “ |
Seth Godin says in his blog, “Fifteen years ago, someone coined the term, Eternal September.
Because each September sees an entire crop of freshman showing up at
college, you need to assume that you have to start teaching protocols
all over again. Once a year, it’s a whole new audience, and they need
to learn the ropes.
The Internet has been stuck in September
ever since. Every day, new people show up at your blog, on Facebook,
everywhere. Every day it’s a whole new crop that need to figure out
what RSS is and how to subscribe.”
SO HOW DOES ETERNAL SEPTEMBER APPLY TO PUBLIC SPEAKING?
How does this concept of Eternal September apply to your professional speaking?
While I do believe there is a lot of truth to “you never get another chance to make a first impression,” the concept of Eternal September would suggest you should take heart and be full of optimism every time you get up to speak.
NOT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD SAW YOUR LAST SPEECH
Even if the last time you got up to speak, you felt you totally fell flat on your face, you should always remember that not EVERYONE in the audience right in front of you now, today, this minute, SAW or HEARD that speech.
In fact, for the most part, many of your audiences will be a completely new group of people.
Only YOU remember the last time when you were embarrassed or felt your speech didn’t go as perfectly as you had wished.
DON’T WASTE ANOTHER MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE
Why waste another precious moment of your life in the past, mourning a past failure or loss on a past speech, or anything else for that matter?
EVERY AUDIENCE IS A NEW OPPORTUNITY
Be here now.
The audience in front of you is eager to hear what you have to say. It’s a fresh group of new people who want to learn from you and hear the stories of your life that will inspire them. They want to like you! Every audience is a fresh new opportunity!
Don’t screw yourself up in your head by focusing on the past “failure.” Remember from one of my previous blogs about perfectionism, “9 Helpful Hints For Perfectionists,” there is no such thing as failure, only an experience we fail to learn from!
So with the concept of Eternal September always in mind, every speech you give, no matter how small, is a new moment of possibility and every new speech you give is a blank slate where the history of “How I Did” is yet to be written.
6 Comments
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this is brilliant
thanks for doing it.
Mary Anne… When Seth Godin comments, you’ve arrived. And since I have experienced first-hand how you help leaders give winning speeches, I can attest to your brilliance.
You are now officially a Purple Cow!
John
Thanks John! I do believe that this is the only time in my life that being referenced as “A Cow” of any sort, (let alone a “Purple Cow!”) actually makes me blush with pride and pleasure! Thanks!
Also, thanks so much for doing the Blog Talk Radio interview on my show, “Business Off The Beaten Path” with me this week. You did such a wonderful job of shining your light of insight and hope on to a really challenging and confusing area for both CEO’s and CIO’s:
The CEO-CIO relationshipÖthe trust gap
How CEOs can get greater value out of IT
How CIOs can get a seat at the executive table
Great job John! Your brilliance came shining through! I hope the interview drives a lot of business to Growthwave! And thanks again for your comments…Mary Anne
Thanks Seth! I’m so glad you liked it! One of my colleagues suggested to me that your comments today make me officially “A Purple Cow” now. Do you agree?
For those of you wondering what “A Purple Cow” is, go to Seth Godin’s site and you can find out: http://www.sethgodin.com/purple/ Seth Godin’s book, “Purple Cow” is a wonderful book about transforming your business by being remarkable. “Purple Cow” is full of great information, ideas and wisdom. Nearly 100,000 copies in print! Seth’s fastest-selling book ever.
Again Seth, thanks for your very nice comment. I hold you in very high regard and truly respect your opinion. It means a great deal to me that you would take the time to comment. -Mary Anne
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Mary Anne, I really enjoyed the optimism, and spirit of this blog. It captures hope, purpose, and vitality. It is a very good insight. I like the following statement: “While I do believe there is a lot of truth to “you never get another chance to make a first impression,” the concept of Eternal September would suggest you should take heart and be full of optimism every time you get up to speak.”