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Florida Gardening

speaking engagement

14 years ago

To anyone else who does speaking engagements with garden clubs:

I just want your take on this situation...and I want to vent!

I agreed to speak in November to garden club "A" on container gardening. This isn't my strongest program but I've given it a couple of times. This engagement was arranged by a 3rd party.

I get an email from Garden club A: they are so excited. They are responsible for getting the speaker for all the affilated clubs: A, B, C, D, E etc. for November and I am that speaker.

Cool???

NOT. This isnt' what I agreed to and my program (as is) is suited for smaller groups.

I don't want to be a b****h to this group and say something I'll regret. But I'm not happy either. I've left a message with the lady who arranges these things. It is not her fault but I thought she could give me some sound advice. Should I just suck it up and give the program??? Hey after all I'm a professional! sort of.

What do ya think?

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Comments (5)

imagardener2
14 years ago
I'm a little confused after re-reading. Has club "A" booked you for a much bigger group than you originally thought?

I can understand your consternation, a small group is one thing but speaking to say 50-100 people requires more work and maybe powerpoint, slideshow, etc.
You should be flattered but it has turned into more than you originally agreed to.

I have done public speaking so understand what the difference is. The person who engaged you may not understand, thinking there's no difference, a talk is a talk. But there is...

Denise
laura1
Original Author
14 years ago
Yes...was supposed to speak to one club probably not more than 30. Now I'm supposed to speak to multiple clubs...100 plus.
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tropicalfreak
14 years ago
Wow! Sounds like cool opportunity...but, like you I would probably be anxious about it too. Try the first group and see what happens. Everyone says we need unexpected things our way to push us along. You said you were excited at the initial thought of doing the talk. Pretend it is a smaller group. Worth trying. You may be surprised and what you can do.

Best of luck.
Cliff
laura1
Original Author
14 years ago
Well, I guess that I have gotten over being ticked off. It turns out to be an error of both the other parties not having their stuff together.
Some years ago you couldn't pay me enough to speak in public but i grew up and gained more confidence and now the darn EGO of mine enjoys being the center of attention-hehe! I have been working getting the program together (doing some dish gardens) and planning. I am a little hyped up about it...sharing my love of gardening.
Another thing: I'm not scared to learn something from my audience. I admit that I don't know it all and welcome comments from those who have different expereniences than me.
Thanks for your comments and encourgements.
solstice98
14 years ago
I'm sure you'll do great! You have a wealth of knowledge and can present it very well. Your audience won't expect you to know everything, just enough to keep them interested.

I do a lot of training and the size of the group doesn't bother me anymore, whether it's 6 new employees or 100 experienced professionals. I can get nervous before I start but once I'm up there the ham in me takes over and I enjoy it.

HAVE FUN!

Kate

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