What’s something you’ve done that you never thought you could?
As a child, I was shy and sensitive. I didn’t particularly enjoy being the centre of attention. I was more comfortable observing what was happening around me than drawing attention to myself.
I certainly never imagined that I would spend much of my adult life standing in front of people, speaking. Yet that is exactly what happened.
For more than twenty years I worked as an parish minister, preaching most weeks. I spent another twelve years teaching theology. Along the way, I’ve led meetings, addressed conferences, conducted weddings and funerals, and spoken to audiences of all shapes and sizes.
If you had told my younger self that this was how I would spend my working life, I doubt he would have believed you. I don’t remember a particular moment when I overcame shyness. But I do remember a change in how I thought about public speaking.
When I was younger, I was concerned about how people would receive me. Would I say the right thing? Would I make a fool of myself? What would people think? Gradually, my attention shifted. I became less concerned about how I would be received and more interested in the content of what I wanted to say. Was it true? Was it helpful? Would it make a difference to the people listening? That shift made an enormous difference.
Public speaking became less about performance and more about communicating something that mattered. I didn’t need everyone to be impressed with me. I wanted them to engage with the ideas.
I still have something of that shy child in me. I prefer a thoughtful conversation to being the centre of attention. But I’ve discovered that being shy doesn’t mean you have nothing to say.
Perhaps finding my voice wasn’t really about becoming more confident in myself. It was about becoming more confident that what I had to say was worth sharing.
What’s something you’ve done that you never thought you could?
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