Article, Public Speaking

Many people would go to almost any length to avoid doing public speaking. Whether it's for school, for work, charity or something else; public speaking makes most of us at least slightly nervous. Some are so terrified of being up on stage that they start sweating and shaking from the mere thought. But somehow many people who really don't like speaking in public still get it done and well. So how do they do it?

I'll let you in on a secret -I'm always nervous when I go out on stage, when I do public performances of any kind including public speaking. But nobody's the wiser. Every single one of the people around me think I've got it all figured out and not a care in the world.
You'd be surprised to know how many good speakers really are nervous when performing, even if we seek out those kind of situations or work in those kinds of jobs. Nerves do not have to make you into a bad speaker.

So what to do? Well, there's tons of stuff of course and different things work better for different people. But here's some of it:

Remember that you're not speaking to a bunch of people, you're actually talking to a group of persons. If you take away everyone but say a friend from that crows, you're only really talking like you do everyday. That's really what the situation is. You're just talking to somebody, this time there happens to be several somebodies, but they're still just persons listening to what you've got to say. Think on the positive aspects of speaking in public. You get to say what you have to say and nobody will probably interrupt you, you've got the floor, you've got the time, nobody but you gets to speak when you do. In a way -you've got the power.

Also as I said, you're just talking to people. Try and act like it. Don't make the speech into a you and them scenario, talk with them -throw out questions, side comments, a joke or two, these aren't just to loosen up the crowd, they're for your benefit as well to get back to a healthy perspective on the situation. Instead of focusing your eyes on a far away inanimate target, look at the people. Find the friendly faces in the crowd and speak to them as if you were just talking to a friend about a subject that inspires you (in a longer speech than normal yeah, but at least they won't interrupt you). Encourage questions if it's allowed because that makes the speech even more of a conversation.

Know your subject, don't necessarily know your speech. Power point presentations are great because if you lose your way you can just take a moment and check your keywords on the screen. It's doubly great because then you don't have to have too complex notes on you and no papers that rattle.

Don't be afraid of silence. Often when speaking in public we tend to talk really fast if we do know our subject (if we lose our way, it's the hemming and hawing instead), don't be afraid to make pauses and let something you've said sink in. Take a sip of water, study your notes in peace, just close your mouth, look out the window for a moment and breathe.

Moving around is good, so is keeping something in your hand like a pen. An old favorite of mine is taking a seat on top of the desk or the stage or whatever's in front if that's allowed (I usually don't ask, but some teachers frown on that stuff so you might wanna clear it with them first) to get a more casual feel going. Then you can move away, doodle on the board, make gestures with your hands and so on.

Here's the key element to remember though: You're not making a speech, you're telling people about something that you know about that may or may not interest them but that you want to speak of anyway and now you can, because it's your show.

Alright, that's the loooong and not so short of it.
Good luck with your continued speaking!

^^

Story, Serenity

She usually came in late autumn. Just when the last leaves were giving way to the mighty storm winds of the west. She never stayed for more than a few months and always left as the first flower broke through the ground. She came from the north and officially it was to avoid the cold weather of her homeland that she visited each season, but somehow people didn’t quite believe that one. Because when she came the winter intensified. Not the cold or the snow, but the Winter. The winter magics of snowballs and snowmen, candlelit evenings and warm cocoa by the fire. It was like the whole town came to a different sort of life, a fairytale existence. She didn’t even need to be physically present to make a change in people’s attitudes about their lives. All it usually took was the first sighting of her in one of the local stores and the whole population would start to simmer and bubble with new found joie de vivre. There were parties and dancing, dinners and activities. People went to visit each other more frequently, started to cook so that the food would always be enough for at least one person more around the dinner table. Few ever spoke about it of course, but everybody knew that it was ‘that northern lady’ that did it. No one knew how or why or what exactly happened, but each time you met her or even saw her you came away feeling more alive, more human than ever. But like with all the old magics you didn’t talk about it too much for fear it would somehow break the spell.

She had long auburn hair and eyes like the clear ice of the river at high winter. When she smiled she did it with her whole face and when she laughed you could hear it for blocks away. She always had a kind word for every person and if ever there was some trouble stirring up in the community she just happened to be there to stand up for the wronged and soothe the troubled spirits. She was a healer too, or that was how the whispers went. When she treated it a blooded nose stopped running, a cut wound mended without a scar and worn out muscles were warmed by her warm singing and her red hot palms. Hot cocoa was her trademark. If and when you saw her out at a café somewhere it was sipping some hot cocoa with whipped cream and marshmallows while reading a book, writing something down with a small mysterious smile on her lips, talking with someone in an animate manner or just looking out on the people and the world with serenity written on her face.

Some said she was royalty from some distant line that no one had heard about. Maybe the grand daughter of Anastasia or some other exiled heir to a far away throne. Others, often the oldest people and the ones with roots in some mysticism or another claimed that she was a fallen goddess that had chosen to walk on Earth in human form to help her people and charges. Or that she was a powerful sorceress that you might do well to stay away from if you were not of the purest heart and intentions. Other still said that she was simply a drifting spirit who’s primary purpose in life was to experience and to share her experiences with the world. A few disgruntled voices meant that she was nothing but a traveling writer looking for inspiration and her magics was just the work of overactive imaginations and wishful thinking. But they all watched and listened as she came every autumn. They watched and listened as she left every spring. And they all kept quiet once she left. Guarding the magic for another season until the time when she would return and brighten their spirits once more.

Random, I Am in Truth a Marvellous Creation

I have two legs: To take me on a trip around the world, running silently through a forest, striding with vigor through the mountains of old, dancing the hours of the night away.

I have two feet: To walk in my own shoes without apologies, to choose my own paths without regret, fear or hesitation.

I have two arms: To hold a loved one close to me and never let go, to cradle a child in silent comfort, to catch a stranger if they should fall.

I have two hands: To create things of might and beauty, to sooth a tender neck, to caress a troubled shoulder, to hold another above the water. In no case will I let you drown if I can prevent it.

I have two shoulders: To carry some of your load if you let me, to lift the heavens themselves so they do not come crashing down on the defenseless, to way the scales of justice equally.

I have two ears: To hear a cry drifting in the night, to hear a plea, a pardon, an endearment, to hear the wind and the voices of the heart.

I have two eyes: To see clearly the world around me, to see truth and never blink at what I see, to wonder at the marvels of the world and cry tears of joy.

I have one nose: To smell the flowers in the summer air, the scent of newly baked bread made with love, to smell out the bad and know that it has no place in my presence.

I have one mouth: To speak softly, to sing gently, to whisper words of wisdom, to kiss a cheek, a forehead or expectant lips.

I have one mind: To invent new things of wonder, to think up fairytales and music, to understand that I am one, but not alone.

I have one heart: To open up to every single creature, to love without boundaries, to know what living is all about and rejoice at the wonders of the world.

I have one soul: That is what I am most grateful for, that is what I treasure most, that is my pride and joy. I have a soul and it knows me and all of you. I have a soul and so have you. We are one and that is the truest of all wonders.

Article, Get Online or Get Out?

“If you don’t have a webpage you don’t exist.” Those are words I’ve heard a thousand times. Heard them, read them, said them and as you know -the more something is repeated the closer it gets to being the truth. 

In a world of multinational companies, international sales markets and globalization, anything that can shrink the world for your company, organization or one man firm is a good thing. Anything that brings you closer to your target group is good. And as we all know easy is a keyword for clients, no matter what product they’re after. Easy, fast and inexpensive.

Once we know what we can get and how, then we can start spending some money. If there is an easy way to get in touch with the supplier from start to finish of course. That’s why company’s have to go online. If you have a computer or at least easy access to one your easiest way of finding the right supplier of a product or service is googling your query and surf in on one of the many pages that are bound to appear.

Fine-tuning your search will hopefully lead to the best suppliers for the goods you’re after and then it’s basically a done deal. If, IF the company’s homepage is attractive, speedy, easily navigated and with interesting content.

That’s how you make business work -supply what’s demanded.

Text, Sleeping in Silence (Travel)

When I was young and traveling with my family I used to look at all of these travelers and backpackers at the airport and think they were so, very, cool. The way they dressed, the way they moved, the way they carried around a million things, listening to a Walkman while juggling water, chips and literature from an airport store. They looked so important somehow these people. They didn't have any suits or fancy briefcases, but they looked as if they were going places for real, learning about life, exploring the world. They seemed to somehow be content within themselves. Young bodies, old eyes and laughing faces. They didn't care about convention either. Sure they were friendly and courteous, but they did what they wanted to.

The girl snuggling up with her worn out jeans and bare feet on the cushy lounge chair overlooking the airport hall with a Kafka book in hand, humming some strange tune I'd never heard before. The guys taking turns sleeping on a row of stuffed chairs with metal edges. Two of them playing cards to keep each other awake while their buddies slept so that everyone would get their sleep and no one would get their luggage stolen. The lone, young woman dressed all in white linen hurriedly walking along to the international flights with her cabin bag rolling behind her and her tickets kept in a tight grip. The guy catching a ride with our taxi to the layover hotel. Young people going places. I used to imagine where they had been, where they were going, what they thought and felt as they waited twelve hours straight for their flights to start up again. Going out, going home, going somewhere...

Then of course it was my turn to grow up, my turn to travel and see the world on my own. But it's funny, even after I've been places, seen and done amazing things I still get that magical feeling when I look at young travelers at the airport. Even when I've been the one dressed all in white after the hottest summer ever at the continent to land in Stockholm and almost freeze to death in the pouring rain outside, waiting for the taxi cab to -please come pick me up soon. When I myself have gotten to the point when traveling that I simply didn't care anymore, laid down on those metal edged chairs with my laptop in a firm grip as my pillow, praying that I would hear the alarm go off before my flight while listening to my favorite travel CD. Wishing fervently for silence at the same time, just needing to rest and sleep undisturbed by motor sounds and air sickness and rowdy, drunken people on vacation.

I've crept up in those lounge chairs myself with sandy, naked feet, reading a paperback book, ignoring the looks from the business travelers. They'd do it too, given half a chance. I've waited 2 hours for flights, I've waited 13. And lord knows I didn't care about the coolness factor when my parents treated me to a layover at a hotel that once. The hotel concierge calling me 'miss' which is more or less unheard of in Sweden barely rated a raised eyebrow because in just a few minutes I would finally be sleeping in a soft, comfortable bed, in silence.

I want to feel the magic. I want to go again!

Poem, No More Talking

I’d ask you for forgiveness,
but really, what is there to forgive?
If you thought that my love
was like your love,
then you were mistaken.
I always said I was a loner, didn’t I?

I’d ask you to respect my choice,
but really, what was in the choosing?
I never chose the life I lead, it chose me.
I’d ask you to remember
all the good times with the bad.
But it’s not up to me to decide
what you think of me,
from now on.
As it wasn’t in the past.
I always said we must make our own way, didn’t I?

I’d ask you not to cry.
I’d ask you not to lie.
I’d ask you not to curse me.
I’d ask you to -please try.
But nothing I ask will take these words
and change them from Goodbye.
Though I said I’d always love you, didn’t I?

Story, Thrilling Luck

A rough draft from way back. Should probably edit it at some point, flesh it out into a proper short story. But not today.

~*~ 

”Here we are now walking through one of the Green corridors.” Some of them laughed, but not everyone. It had been a long day… Just a few hours ago some of them might have asked why an absolutely white corridor was called green, but by now most were too tired to ask. Undisturbed by the lack of interest from his students the guide continued answering the unspoken question.

”It sounds like a stupid name for a plain white corridor, I know,” he laughed lightly. ”But there is a reason for the name. You see here we control all the Environmental systems of the building.”

Everybody went ”oh” and then their faces went blank again. They continued their walk through the empty corridor…

”What’s that?”

Sarah’s eyes followed to where the finger had pointed, but then she looked back at the guide. For a minute she thought she had seen something draw over his face, was it fear, anger, irritation? She searched for a clue in his eyes, but now the mask was back and the guide smiled as broadly as ever.

”That, ”he laughed, but didn’t she hear a slight nervous tone in his voice when he continued? ”That’s nothing, absolutely nothing. Just a storage room, that’s all.”

The boy, who had asked, lowered his arm and the crowd followed the guide as he continued his walk.

Soon enough, they stopped again, the guide now pointing at a big computer screen, while talking with a loud voice.



Oh my, she really had to go… She remembered seeing a toilet sign just a few minutes ago.

Perhaps she should tell her teacher, but he was busy talking to the guide now and she didn’t want to disturb.

”Pst…Charlotte, I’ve really gotta go. Tell them to wait for me, OK?”

She didn’t wait for the reply…



Sarah looked in the mirror one last time and then walked out of the room.

The door with the ”ladies” sign shut behind her and she walked back to the big computer screen. Only now to discover that there were no guide, nor any students, in sight.

”Damn it,” she muttered. Charlotte hadn’t heard her. Her first instinct was to just follow the corridor, they couldn’t have one far, but then she got a wild idea; the mysterious door…

She couldn’t have been mistaken. The guide had acted strangely when Tom had asked about the so called ”storage room”.



Standing in front of the door, Sarah takes a deep breath.

”Well, here goes nothing.”

She presses down the door handle and surprise; it’s not locked.

She looks around one last time to make sure no one is coming down the corridor and then she slips through the door.

”What the…”



She had stepped into a new corridor, a perfect copy of the one she had just left.

”Incredible,” she muttered.

Everything was absolutely, totally white and there were neither furniture, nor any doors as far as the eye could see. Everything was so uncolourful that she almost had to touch the walls, while walking, just to know they were still there.

She went on walking until the solid mass of a wall forced her to stop. She looked around to see if there were any sidedoors she had missed, but she saw none. She had come to a dead end…



Any other girl with her mind still fully intact would have taken the hint and gone back as fast as she could, but not Sarah, oh no. To her a wall where there should not be any just implicated that she had to look harder to see the opening.

There had to be a secret door somewhere; the only question was how to open it.

She followed the white plates that made out the walls, with her hands. Now and then she stopped to press down one or two plates, but without results.

She was almost ready to give up, when she heard a silent ”click” and a cool wind coming from behind her.

She counted the plates to make sure she would remember where she had put her hands and then she turned and walked through the door that she had opened.



”Now, why am I not surprised?” she muttered, as she walked through the new corridor, which was, of course, totally white, too.

This time the corridor didn’t lead her to a dead end, but to something that had to be some kind of a storage room.

”So, this is your idea of ‘just a storage room’ hah?”

Well, the nervous guide would probably have peed in his pants, should he have known where she was now.



The smile, that had shown in her face when she had thought of the nervous guide, froze, as she heard the sound of steps coming her way. Immediately, without thinking, she crouched behind some boxes and tried to make herself as small as possible.

”Please don’t see me! Please don’t see me!”

She repeated the words over and over again, like a mantra.

”What do you think you’re doing.”

The voice was sharp and demanding, a typical voice for someone who had been in the military too long. Terrified, Sarah held her breath. Had someone discovered her?! She was just making ready to come out of her hiding place, when she heard a second voice.

”What does it look like I’m doing? I’m taking a break.” The second voice did not sound anything like the first one. It was low and feminine, even if it didn’t really seem to be coming from a woman.

”It looks like you’re lazy. That’s what it looks like.”

”Well Mr. General. I’m not one of your men who you can boss around with as you please and I haven’t had a break in five hours.”

”Hmpf…” The general didn’t sound pleased at all and Sarah almost laughed out loud in pure release. They had no idea she was there…

She couldn’t help herself; she just had to see what the two men who had spoken looked like. Slowly she moved one of the boxes, she had hid behind, a little to the left and then she held her breath. Had they noticed? But no, the two men that she could see now were still talking to each other and she had to try very hard to hear what they were saying.



”Any word about the transmit?”

”No, nothing. It may come tomorrow, today, in one week… We just don’t know. It would have been easier if we could just have one more scientist…”

”We’ve been through this before, Claus. This is high explosive stuff. Not even the President knows anything about it. We just can’t risk any leaks…”

”No I guess we can’t…

“Ah, well you’d better get on your break now, but I want you back in the radio-room in max half an hour. Understood?”

”Yes, sir!”

”All right then mister, carry on…”

”Sir, yes sir!”

The general watched as Claus walked away and so did Sarah. Then he turned around and went back to wherever he had come from.

She remained hidden a little while longer, just in case he would come back, but then her curiosity took over… What in the hell could they have been talking about?! She rose from her hiding place and sneaked in the direction from where Claus had come.

And found herself in a white corridor…



”Now why am I not surprised?” Sarah muttered as a new, solid and of course white wall stopped her. She tried to push the same spot on the wall as before, but with no results. She tried all the walls, and finally the last one did open.

Oops, she thought, just as the door opened. What if Claus had not been alone in the room…? The thought went through her mind at light-speed, but it was too late.



She took a deep breath as she gazed into the room and she could not hold back an astonished ”wow” when she walked in. It was like computer-heaven. Everywhere she looked there were monitors and computer-screens, blinking lamps and buttons.



Sarah felt a strange chill run though her veins. She must have lost her mind. Here she was, in a secret room, somewhere in a military-base. And she had just been listening to a mysterious and highly confidential conversation about some kind of a transmission, so secret that not even the President knew about it. She must be crazy.



Just as she had persuaded herself to go look for her classmates and forget everything about this ‘little’ incident, the lamps went off. And she found herself staring at one of the biggest screens; reading a message, she just couldn’t believe.



”This is worldgroup to worldnation. We have found the answers required for stage two.”

”Roger that worldgroup. Maintain radio-silence ‘til further notice.”

”Negative, worldnation. This is a code blue situation.”

”This is not a secure line. Repeat; this is not a secure line. Maintain radio-silence.”

”Negative worldnation, this is now a code red situation. I repeat; this is a code red situation.”

”Roger that worldgroup. We’re standing by…”

”All right, worldnation. This is our situation: The chameleons are on the move. Repeat; chameleons are on the move. Estimated arrival for bugs to queenseye 0.5 minutes and counting. This is our last transmit.”

”Copy that worldgroup. Let’s hear the numbers…”



……



”Numbers following… Accuracy 99, 8 %.”

”1.As predicted the chameleons do have a hiding-place up in the north. They’ve been there for generations (see Valkyrias). Probability 98.7 %.

2.Probability natives in on it: 98.0 %.

3.Probability nations in on it: 96.7 %

4.Probability chameleons hostile: 78.99 %”



…..



END TRANSMIT



Oh my, she was really in over her head this time. Sarah exhaled when she felt her lungs aching for fresh air. She had held her breath without noticing. Her eyes did not leave the big screen for a minute as the glowing letters slowly faded away.

”God, what a mess,” she muttered.

There was no doubt about it: she had just been witnessing the first real proof that they were not alone in the universe and that the aliens might be hostile and she could not tell anyone about it.

Hell, if someone had told her that there were aliens trying to conquer earth she would probably have called a mental hospital herself, thinking she was doing the poor bastard a favour.



Suddenly, she could hear voices coming from outside, in the corridor. Sarah looked around in panic, but there was no place to hide. She turned around just in time to see the door open…

In, came first the man she could recognise as Claus and just seconds behind him: the general. As soon as they saw her they both stopped, like they had been struck by lightning. She just stood there, passive. Waiting for one of them to make the first move. She was caught, now all she could do was behave and hope for the best.



”Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing here?!!!!”

She took a step back, shocked by the tone of the voice. This was not going to be easy.

“Eh, hm… I’m lost…?”

The general looked at her with disgust and then turned his eyes towards Claus.

“How could this happen?”

Claus tried to answer but the general silenced him with a gesture and continued:

“Never mind, but be sure that you’ll never take a break again, as long as I’m still alive and breathing.”

His eyes turned to Sarah again.

“Well miss nosy, you’ve just seen something that wasn’t meant for your eyes… What do you think we should do with you.” His smile was the smile of a beast ready to attack and his eyes were cold.

“ Well,” she laughed nervously. “I don’t know… Let me go?”

He laughed, a mean and evil laughter.

“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

She tried to smile, but all she could manage was a scared grimace…



“I’m just a kid. I won’t tell anyone. Promise.” Boy was she desperate, that lame performance wouldn’t trick anyone, she thought with a self-deprecating smile.

Sarah was absolutely right, before she had even noticed what had happened, two big guards had entered the room and they were now holding both her arms in a firm grip.

“Now, my little friend we’re going to headquarters for a little chat, you and I.”

The general laughed again. That kind of laugh you would expect to hear in a bad horror-movie.

“Yes, we’ll have a nice talk… a real nice talk.”

Terrified, she looked at her captures. She didn’t have a chance…



Out in the public corridor, the guards let go of her arms, but one of them showed her his gun to assure her that any try to escape would be not just futile, but deadly too. Sarah gave up a deep sigh and started to massage her arms while thinking franticly: What to do? What to do?

They had almost reached the headquarters when they met a civilian tourist and Sarah got a brilliant idea. When the tourist was as close as two feet away, she started speaking with a loud voice:

“Thank you very much for showing me the way gentlemen. I’m sure I’ll manage on my own, now.”

Yes it worked; she had gotten the tourist’s attention now. It was time to put on the real performance.



“It was very nice of you to follow me all the way… Really, it was, but now I think I’ll just tag along with this gentleman over here.”

The general saw what was coming, but it was too late. The tourist, a young man about twenty-five years old had already turned around and was now watching her with interest. She could see the anger in her captor’s eyes and she smiled victoriously. She and the general both knew there was nothing he could do, not if he didn’t want to kill two civilians in a public place…



Slowly she walked towards the young tourist and took his arm.

“You’ll show me the way outa here, won’t you?”

The guy smiled embarrassed and she thought she was finally safe when he shocked her with his words:

“I’d really like to miss, but I’ve just arrived and I haven’t seen everything I wanted to see yet. But you’re welcome to join me. If you’d like…?”

She took a deep breath, a slight miscalculation, but one that could prove to be deadly. She couldn’t go with him. The general and his men would try to catch her first chance they got… She had to get out of there, right away. Ah, well. There was nothing she could do about her chances anymore. This was the only one she would get. Small as it was she had to take it. If she started running now, maybe she would be outside before her enemies were. She gave the tourist a quick smile and said:

“I’m sorry. I have to get home, but why don’t you ask these” she nodded toward her captivates “gentlemen to show you around. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind at all.”



Before either the general or the tourist had time to answer, she was already on the move. Running as fast as she could, following the exit-signs. Praying she would make it home alive.



She had almost reached the door marked exit when she heard running steps coming from behind.

Sarah looked around desperately to see if there were any sign of a civilian or anyone who might be able to help her, but the hall was all empty, the only people being the ones she did not want to face. There was no where left to run. She did not have a chance. Better surrender voluntarily than to be forced by violence. With a sigh she stopped and slowly turned around…

And everything went black…





~







“Sarah… Sarah dear, wake up!”

The soft, low voice enticed her back from the land of dreams and slowly she returned to consciousness. What had happened, had they shot her? She looked up, ready to meet the face of a doctor or a nurse, scared it would be something else, perhaps an alien.

But the eyes of the face she met were not the ones of the general or a monster. They were the eyes of someone she knew very well.

“Good morning, mom.”

She smiled…

“Well good morning to you too, sleepyhead. Are you gonna lie there all day? You’re going to the new military-base, you know.”

Sarah smiled and nodded….





……..



“What’s that?”

Sarah’s eyes followed to where the finger had pointed, but then she looked back to the guide. For a moment she thought she had seen something draw over his face…

“That’s just a storage room.”

Nah, it was probably nothing, she thought and they continued their walk through the absolutely white corridor…



The End.