TJ Walker ran a public-speaking workshop at an oil refinery in St. Croix for five engineers. One 50-year-old man got emotional, saying the training taught him he "didn't have to live in the shadows." Walker argues speaking is a learnable skill that opens career and civic doors at any age.
Questions this video answers
An oil refinery in St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands).
Five engineers.
A day-long, in-person workshop.
About 50 years old.
Chapters
I was training a bunch of engineers at an oil refinery in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands more than a decade ago. And it was pretty much a typical training. Five engineers, they each get up, they speak, I record them, we play it back, we critique it, we do it again and again and again. And people get more comfortable, they get better, they get more interesting. They get to the point where they like what they see. Well, I'll never forget what happened at the end of one of those trainings, at the end of the day. And I did what I always do at the end of the training. I go around the room, camera on, and I just ask people to tell me, what did you get out of today? If anything, what did you learn? And here was one engineer in the corner. He was about 50 years old. And I noticed he had a tear in his eye and he was very soft spoken and he was actually crying. And what he told me was, tj, what I learned today was I don't have to live in the shadows. My whole life, I always thought I was someone who had to be behind the scenes. I'm not a public speaker. I'm not the front man. I can't be the face of our organization or my unit. I've got to be in the shadows. You taught me today that I can speak as well as anyone. And I gotta tell you, it feels really good. I'm excited in a way I've never been excited before about my job. And I gotta tell you, it warmed my heart to hear him say that, because people don't typically cry at the end of my trainings. But it did show that it touched him, it moved him, and it made him realize that this is not some skill you're born with or you're not born with, or some people are lucky enough to have it. It's just a technical skill that anyone can learn. He learned by going through that day long in person workshop. You're learning by being in this online course right now. So why did I tell that story? Why do I use that? I don't like to be overly dramatic and talk about people crying. But it really did happen. I'm not making it up. And I do think it shows people that you can learn and you can learn at any age. This was not a young man. Now, Since I'm over 50, I don't think I'm 50 is old anymore. I was below 50 at the time. But it's an important lesson. You can learn it anytime. It's not something you're naturally born with. I do believe too many people in this world feel like they can never be the top of an organization or they can never run for office, or they can never start their own business because they can't stand up in front of people and speak. And that hurts me. I want people to know. Yeah, you can. If you can learn all those other things of how to run a business or develop positions for political campaign, you can get the speaking part down pretty easily. That's my message. Anyone can learn to speak and anyone can learn at any age.
