TJ WALKER - THE HABIT INFLUENCER - Personal Development | LIVE STREAM

24 May 2017 · 3 min

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2:46

TJ Walker recounts his first experience giving a speech at about age 12, when his teacher Ms. Stroop offered to raise his handwriting grade to an A if he delivered the welcoming speech at his elementary school graduation. Although his speech was simple and forgettable, the experience gave him confidence to run for student council later and illustrates the value of low-stakes speaking practice. He closes with a social-media call to action to like, share, and follow his page.

Chapters

I'll never forget my first time giving a speech. I was an extremely shy kid. I never really said that much, was quiet in school, and I was 12 years old, about to graduate from elementary school. I remember my teacher pulled me aside one day and Ms. Stroop said, TJ. Well, Timmy is what she called me back then. Make a deal with you right now. You've got A's in all your subjects, but in handwriting. You've only got a C. Your handwriting isn't very good. I'll make a deal with you. If you give the welcoming speech to parents, teachers, students at graduation, I'll give you an A in handwriting. I thought, well, I don't know anything about giving speeches. Doesn't sound like fun. But hey, getting an A, that sounds fun. It couldn't be that much work. So I said, sure. So I remember writing this speech, and it was really boring and straightforward. Good afternoon, parents, teachers and students of Bruns Avenue Elementary. Welcome to the graduation ceremony of 1975. Or something incredibly boring like that. It wasn't anything fancy. Nobody remembered it. But I got through the speech and it taught me an early lesson that if you're just willing to stand up and speak, people will give you things. I got an A instead of a C. Now, was that a good thing or an ethical thing for the teacher to do? I don't know grade swapping like that. But I can still write and barely read my handwriting. And. And I can give speeches. And it gave me a little more confidence the next year. When I was in junior high school. We called it junior high school back then, not middle school. It gave me more confidence when I started running for student council and having to give speeches in front of other students. So it was the first step. Whatever it is you do in your own life, your kid's life, the earlier you can just stand up and speak, the better, especially when the stakes are low. If I'd given an awful speech, would it have really mattered? No. But giving one, getting some positive reinforcement back, was an important first step. I hope you help your family members, kids, others can take important first steps in all of their presentations. I'm TJ Walker. Thanks for joining me. If you got any value out of this, please like the video. Share Share it, Leave a comment and please like my page@facebook.com tjwalkerspeaktoinfluence.