Photos of Skip Speaking at Northern California Career & Leadership & Career Summit

The first photos have been released from the 2009 Northern California Career & Leadership Summit where I gave one of three keynote addresses this past Saturday, May 30th. To read more about the event and my experience speaking there, click here.

Click on a photo to enlarge it:

Inspiring Others to Breakthrough Their Comfort Zone

In an audience of 1,500 its tough sometimes to tell whether you are connecting with anyone except the faces in the front few rows, and maybe those who step up to ask a question or respond to a request for sharing from the stage.

Some people will come up and engage you after the talk, some will stop by your booth and buy your products, some keep to themselves quietly reflecting on what they heard and evaluating for application in their own lives, some fail to see value in the talk, and others are just inspired and may or may not share it beyond themselves.

I’m grateful that one participant chose to do two things in one blog post. The first is that he shared with me the impact my talk had on him and also did something for himself. He applied a little of the humility I suggested and stretched his comfort zone a little. 

Congratulations, Mark! I’m both proud of you and very grateful for the feedback you shared with your readers. For those of you who would like to read about how I, and two other fabulous speakers, inspired Mark, please read his blog at Mark Curtis Media.

Now I Know How Bruce Springsteen Feels (well, sort of)

I was a little taken aback, and was somewhat embarrassed, by the response of the audience on Saturday when I closed my keynote address in front of 1,500 people.  This was more than the usual polite applause and then, gradually, some in the auditorium began to stand (I’m still awaiting the official photos from the event, which I will certainly post when they arrive.).

The event, the 2009 Northern California Career & Leadership Summit at the Community Presbyterian Church in Danville, CA is in its 7th year, and I was one of three speakers on the program.

How does one respond to a “standing ovation” if one has never been the recipient of such a response. It was a little uncomfortable, to say the least, but a learning experience for which I look forward to applying again soon, hopefully.

It is certainly a rush to complete a performance knowing you gave 100%, connected with a large group of people and very well may have significantly inspired some in that group to do something different afterward.  

For 33 years and 62 live performances, Bruce Springsteen, has done that for me. Now I know how Bruce feels (somewhat) as he stands on stage, holding the hands of his bandmates taking that final bow before they leave the stage. I also now understand why he plays live so often and has historically played marathon concerts, its a rush to have other people enamored with what you are providing them.

A lot of lessons learned in this process that I’ll be writing about over the next few days and weeks. I have to prepare for another presentation, a somewhat smaller venue of a conference room and 25 workshop participants on Wednesday.  Just like Bruce, whether its 25, 2500, or 25,000 I’m committed to giving 100% each time out!

Much thanks goes out to four very special people, professional mentors who helped make this success possible (or necessary as Yogi Berra once said), and have me excited to pursue the next opportunity:

Dr. Shirley Garrett - (www.ShirleyGarrett.com) my most immediate speaking/performance coach, who helped me craft the speech over a weekend intensive and then worked with me to tweak it over the ensuing two months. Shirley also helped with specific stage performance and delivery tips that were invaluable, as was her wonderful wordsmithing and on-going encouragement and support.

Jane Atkinson - (www.SpeakerLauncher.com) I’ve been a member of Jane’s Club Quick Start, a monthly coaching program that has been a consistent development tool for the last 7 months. Thanks to Jane’s program I selected my focused lane “Helping Leaders Create Champion Organizations,” my new brand. Without that decision early on in the Club Quick Start program, my message for this keynote would not have been as focused and inspiring as it turned out to be. This blog is a testament to my work in her program.

David Greenberg - (www.SimplySpeakingInc.com) My original speaking coach from 2 1/2 years ago who got me started on livening up my presentations. Although progress since our sessions 30 months ago has been slower than I would have liked, David has been a constant inspiration, resource and friend for me. I appreciate his candidness and professionalism to refer me to Shirley Garrett shortly after reaching out to  him to help me with this project.

Dr. Alan Weiss - (www.SummitConsulting.com  www.ContrarianConsulting.com ) Alan may be the most intelligent and most challenging personality I’ve ever come across in my life but I have to thank him for his constant push to exceed the limits we all place on ourselves getting to the next level. Before attending his Million Dollar Consulting College two years ago (where the original concept of this Champion Organizations brand was birthed) I never would have imagined believing I could present to an audience of this size and get the results I did. Alan has no idea of the impact he has had on my growth in the last three years but his is a constant inner voice that has a strong tendency to override the critical one inside my head, allowing me to continually stretch my comfort zone!

I highly recommend each of these professional speaking and consulting resources above.