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Part 105 - Speak

It takes time and effort to present to a group.

"It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech."

- S. Clemens

"I feel like Steve Bannon looks."

That's how I started my presentation this morning.

A lecture theater full of lawyers, all of them laughing. It was a good start. I needed to keep it up for the next 45 minutes. I really did feel like shit.

I managed not just one, but two home practices yesterday. It was all I could do to move through the first round of sun salutations, but once I got the body moving, things became easier. It always surprises me how much better I feel after even a few minutes of moving the body through poses.

Here I was in front of 200 attorneys - Good start. Head throbbing. Mouth feeling a little dry - and all I could think about was when will I be able to work in a practice?

I spent about three weeks preparing for the presentation. I do that every time I speak. It takes me a lot of time to hone a message. It takes me a lot of practice to work new anecdotes into the narrative in a way that feels natural and sounds like I'm just delivering it off the cuff. To make a presentation feel like I'm just chatting with some pals takes a lot of writing, re-writing, editing, practicing, practicing.

I made it through the speech. I'm told it was great. I honestly don't remember much of it. I really did feel almost as bad as Steve Bannon looks.