Wednesday, December 5, 2007
More about training: Comm Drills
It occured to me that I have been telling you a lot about how training was and what types of things we did, but I wasn't giving you many specifics. Well, in my December prayer letter, I tell you about what we learned about Keynote's ministry philosophy. (You can see that letter here.) But I wanted to share more than just that with you...
So, what exactly a "comm drill," anyway?
That's the same question I asked when I was handed my schedule for training back in Novemeber and there were about nine sessions labeled as "Comm Drills."
I came to learn that comm drills were short excercises that Keynote has their new staff go through to develop their communication skills. Each comm drill focuses on a different element of verbal or non-verbal communication. Eye contact. Gestures. Stage usage. Vocal inflection. Speaking in a "common language" with your audience. And more.
So, for example, on the day we focused on eye contact, each of us had to stand up and tell a story (any story) to the rest of the group. When I began, each person in the rest of the group put his/her hand up, and wouldn't put it down until I had made eye contact with them for 5 seconds straight while telling my story. Intimidating? Just a little! Then, when everyone had put their hand down, my comm drill was over, and I got feedback about how you had done.
Oh, and one more thing. We were also video-taped while we did it. And I watched the video of myself after each drill. It was weird, but definitely beneficial.
And we did similar drills for each skill. Telling stories about ourselves or our experiences and practicing effective communication. The ultimate goal was to eventually (as a "final project" of sorts) be able to write and effectively communicate a story from our lives that could transition into a presentation of the Gospel.
For me, that ended up being the story of when I was hit by a truck when I was a year-and-a-half old. (For those of you who didn't know that, it's true!) That has always been something that's convinced me that I am (still) here for a reason, and that God spared me that day for a specific purpose.
(For those of you familliar with the Four Spiritual Laws, I would here transition to the first law by saying that actually, God has a plan/purpose for each of our lives!)
Having never taken a public speaking class in my life, comm drills definitely stretched me and took me way outside my comfort zone! But now, I'm more confident on how to tell a story, how to speak to an audience, and how my story might be able to speak to an audience at some point. Very worth it.
Hope it's beginning to feel like Christmas for you all! Remember the reason for the season.
|
