LEAP + OCAPICA = LEAPICA

Happy 4th of July y'all!

I must admit I was a little reluctant at the thought of going to the office while my parents were still sleeping in for the morning. And I was not looking forward to sitting through a FOUR HOUR workshop (9am-1pm) about presentation skills. But hey, at least we got spam musubis! (Thanks, Reimar!)

When it came down to it, Vanna Novak, our facilitator, made the four hours fly by wayyy fast. She really engaged us "chatty" interns, while we occassionally got sidetracked as we usually do. (Sarah Palin's resigning as governor? What?!) That was until we had to videotape ourselves, and even more painfully, watch ourselves! Whaaaa.

Okay. So watching yourselves on tape anywhere is pretty awkward. Imagine you had to then critique yourself in front of a group of 10 people? Really? It's really not that bad, and pretty valuable actually. What I noticed about the two development workshops we've had at LEAP is that there is an emphasis on self-criticism, but also self-reflection and positive affirmation.

While we took turns seeing how funny all looked on tape, talking about how our arms are moving way too fast, or how they aren't moving enough, discovering UPSEAK, or whether our "ummms" or "likes" are really that apparent, we also evaluated a couple things that make us effective speakers. Yay positive reinforcement!

So after Vanna went around reading people like a fortune teller, it was my turn. I need to detach my arms, yes. I need to "anchor," yes. I need to engage the audience with more illustrative gestures, yes.

But apparently I'm also very calming. Very grounded. And I demonstrate "a wealth of maturity beyond my years." I remember Vi telling me this during retreat during our team appreciation session, too. Honestly I've always felt that I was an old soul, but I didn't know that this aura was so visible to others.

Although Vanna told us repeatedly not to think (when we make presentations), I really appreciate having the time to think, and rethink, about myself and just re-evaluate where the road has taken me, and what lies ahead of me.

Well, enough of this deep thought stuff. I'll save my Zen for another day. Happy Birthday, America! Be safe everyone!