If someone asked me, “what do you enjoy most about being a speaker?” I’d say, the empowering feeling you get from sharing a unique insight into your story to help people to see, think and do things differently that will benefit their lives and others. Yes it takes balls of courage to speak in front of an audience, but the outcome of facing the fear is worth it as I recently discovered after an unexpected encounter…
One of the most rewarding and fun things Laura and I love to do is supporting the Guide Dogs charity. So we joined in with a Christmas collection day at our local Sainsbury’s dressed in festive style of course! With a sparkly red tinsel collar and festive head band Laura looked like a furry Christmas tree and as for me, a Santa hat which was not as cool. But hey ho ho ho the outfits were worth it!
We drew in very merry shoppers who kindly opened up their purses, loved fussing adorable Laura and most importantly raised lots of awareness about the work of guide dogs. If I had a penny for every time someone called her a good boy I bet we could have raised like a million quid in 90mins. Thought I just told you her name was Laura?! Lol.
And then I heard an excited little voice behind me say, “Hello I remember you and Laura! You came to speak about guide dogs at my beavers group!”
As soon as I turned around to face the little girl, she enthusiastically went on to explain every detail she remembered from the talk and how she still uses the puppy book mark we handed out…almost 8 months ago!
Whoa I thought! Listening to her share what she had learnt just made my heart melt like a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a warm apple crumble. Simply sweet!
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As I spoke to her, I remember how enthusiastic and excited the kids were that day to hear all about Laura and why she is a special doggy and how she helps me.
We were sat at the front of the room with rows of little eyes on us. My initial thought was, “oh damn there’s no way these kids are going to sit still for 15mins listening to me blabbering on!”
To my surprise I was proved wrong! Each and every child sat quietly, fully engaged and payed close attention as I shared stories on the role of a guide dog, how Laura has changed my life and a few funny stories about the mischief she gets up too! Not surprisingly they were curious to learn more raising their little hands eager to ask a question or two or three…”can Labradors only become guide dogs, how old is Laura, and.. My doggy likes to eat carrots too!”
Every second of our visit was so rewarding and fun. These smart little grownups showed such enthusiasm, a genuine interest and were able to demonstrate what they had learnt too!
I remember a moment at the end of the talk when all 25 kids lined up in single file to stroke Laura and receive a sticker and book mark. One little boy made me smile. Before he reached out to pet Laura in harnace he introduced himself to me and politely asked, “Is it ok to stroke Laura.”
One of the things I’d mentioned to the kids was to always ask the guide dog owner first before fussing the dog as a dog in harnace is a working dog and must not be distracted. The same little boy left the session super excited telling his dad all about what he’d learnt.
This is what makes doing what I do so fun and rewarding
The experience of helping these little ones to learn about the life changing work of guide dogs is such an empowering feeling. The impression you could make on a person, even a 7 year old as I realised from simply speaking from the heart is a feeling that lights me up inside. So no matter how nervous it feels this is what truly makes it so worthwhile.
Today’s kids are our future generation of influencers and thought leaders. I believe if we can begin teaching them about the positive impact they can make even on the tiniest level just imagine what an empowering world we could create!
