Today I attended the Smarter Than Smoking Young Women’s Breakfast put together by Women’s Sport West. The aim of the event was to provide information and support to school girls from low socio-economic backgrounds on the importance of a good diet and the value of getting involved in sport. About eight schools came along, and were supported by female athletes. My role was to both give the inspirational speech and sit on a panel of four athletes to answer the girls’ questions.

The morning ran smoothly and was a huge success. The MC was entertaining and interacted well with the girls. The food was generous - cereals, yogurts, fruit, toast, nuts and health bars - in ample supply, donated by the sponsors. There were prizes for quizzes on facts about smoking - some of them which startled me, ie did you know there are 4,000 chemicals in tobacco? - and the girls all left with a show bag.

Once again, whenever I’m in the presence of teenagers, I experienced a sense of awe. These girls asked such intelligent questions and really participated in the event. Lots of them wanted photos and autographs. I think many of them play sport already, and I hope they continue. I look back on what I was like as a teenager and see all my flaws so clearly. Today’s kids just seem to be different, somehow.

The taxi driver who picked me up came in time to see the girls leaving, heading for school. He said they all had huge smiles on their faces. Hearing something like that makes my day. Well done Women’s Sport West.

In all the research I’ve done on the art of public speaking, one important factor has always stood out - be prepared for anything to go wrong. Speakers are advised to imagine all the technological things that go awry - like lap tops and projectors failing, lights suddenly going out etc - as well as things like getting a bad introduction, dealing with a heckler, having a blank “senior’s” moment. You end up with a long list of what could go wrong, for which you need to find solutions so that absolutely nothing fazes you on the day.

As a blind public speaker, I think I’ve had to come up with disability-specific things that could challenge me on the day.

I must admit, I haven’t had a lot of these over my time as a speaker. The last one I remember was about three years ago when my guide dog and I almost got mashed in a revolving door as we entered the venue where I was addressing about two hundred senior staff members. The person escorting me to the venue didn’t think to tell me we were going through a revolving door until we were in it. Just in time, I realised that my dog would be crushed between the edge of one of the winged doors and the wall, so I did the only thing I could. I screamed, dropped Lucy’s lead and prayed. Luckily, Lucy backed up quickly and escaped the inevitable. I was so shaken afterwards, that I could have used a stiff drink. Instead, I had to pull myself together, focus and do my talk as though there had been no near death experience fifteen minutes before.

Well, this week the gods decided I needed to be tested again on my ability to rise above the disability challenges of public speaking. I was addressing a group of business professionals when I had my most embarrassing moment. Before the event started, I was being shown to my seat at a table to enjoy a lovely breakfast, when I did the dumbest thing. I felt my jacket hanging on the back of my chair, didn’t check which way the chair was facing, decided it was facing me, so turned and sat down. Needless to say, I found myself on the floor. The room went deadly quiet. No-one knew what to say, do or probably, where to look.

I went straight into damage control. I didn’t want these people to think that all blind people miss their chairs when they go to sit down. So I made a joke of it, saying ‘the problem is that I keep forgetting I can’t see!’, and ‘I’ve never done that before!’. Now, believe it or not, this became a useful lead in to my presentation. I used it to put people at their ease, so that they could see I laugh at myself.

It worked well, and I had a great presentation. In fact, I found this group - Perth Business Swap - such a knowledgeable, professional and ecclectic business network, that I am thinking of joining them.

So falling down on the job isn’t always a bad thing!

International Womens Day was last Thursday, March 8. I’d thought about going along to one of the many events that I’d heard about through email, but decided I was just too busy. And so the day passed me by.

But not entirely. I got a call on Thursday asking me if I’d be part of a panel of women to participate in a segment on the ABC’s morning show with Geoff Hutchinson. It was the After 11 segment which runs for an hour. I agreed, not really knowing what I’d manage to come up with that would be of any interest.

The session turned out to be a lot of fun. There were four of us - an MP, a state netball coach, an ex-governor’s wife and me. I don’t think any of us were sure how it would go, what we would say, but we ended up having a lot to say.

I’m not sure how the host, Geoff Hutchinson, felt during the session. We challenged him on a few male attitudes about women. What was particularly interesting was the way women in politics are viewed, how comments are made about how they look, sound etc, and yet this doesn’t happen for men.

Geoff gave us a quote from Jane Fonda (sorry, I’m not sure how to spell her last tname) which said something like: ‘You either shut up and say nothing, or you speak out and learn from your mistakes’. We were all asked to respond to that. And despite our age differences, with the ex-governor’s wife being in her 70s or 80s, we all said we couldn’t ’shut up’, that we always spoke out, especially when we came across injustices.

I went in worried but came out exhilarated. And I think that reflects one very important quality women have. And that is, women are good at networking, forming communities of similar interest, and communicating.

I look forward to another opportunity to be a part of a radio program. It’s fun and interesting watching how it all works. I’m glad I just have to answer questions and not keep an eye on monitors, the producer signalling through the window, press buttons and make things happen when they should.  

Such a lot is happening that I haven’t had a chance to blog about the talk I did at the Western Force match on Saturday night.

Well, probably it was dampened a bit because the Force lost by one point. Very disappointing for them and for the fans watching.

But I survived the night and was actually amazed that being small didn’t make me invisible. Glen Mitchell, well-known sports commentator, introduced me to a noisy room of corporate sponsors and fans who were sampling the finger food and availing themselves of the free drinks. As I climbed onto the stage, I thought that I just had to get on with it, do my talk and not worry about who was listening. I just had to do my best.

But when I opened my mouth, the room fell silent! I was so schocked, I almost forgot my speech. You could have heard a valve pop out of a rugby ball - if the balls have valves - during the whole presentation.

Afterwards, the Minister for Sport came up to me and congratulated me. But what had amazed both me and Glen Mitchell was how quiet the crowd had been, especially as they’d been talking over the live band and Glen’s interview with one of the players earlier.

So I escaped the rugby scrum and actually enjoyed the match. But I didn’t make them win, so I’ll have to review my speech for next time. Maybe I should have been talking to the players.

It’s always hard to pitch to adolescents, to know what they want, what they will hear.

When I prepared the ‘Surviving Year 12′ presentation, I thought about what kids these days are experiencing, how they view the world, along with what I went through as a teenager and what would have helped me. I came up with a package that I trialed on Year 12’s at All Saints’ College in January.

Grace Itzstein, the Career Counsellor at All Saints’ College, has just sent me through some feedback from the students. It was reassuring to find out that my talk hit the mark, that the students did get something out of it. On the day, it was hard to tell, and of course it was particularly difficult for me because I can’t see my audience. Even though the feedback from staff was encouraging - “Janet, they were silent, so that means they were listening!” - I still wanted to get an evaluation from the students themselves.

You can read their comments here

Thanks to all those who let me know that I’m on track with my presentations! 

I’m quaking in my cycling shoes because on Saturday night, I’m doing a presentation at the Western Force Team Event at Subiaco oval.

I can just see it, thick set rugby players as tall as skyscrapers towering over little me, all of five foot four inches. I’m going to get a cricked neck from peering up at them. Maybe I’ll need a loud hailer to be heard. Even when I’m standing on the stage, I’ll probably still be looking up at them.

I’m sweating over my speech because if they can’t hear me, they probably won’t even see me. I need to make some sort of impact right from the start, grab their attention. How about a firecracker? No, maybe a bit dramatic. Maybe if I wore a few pairs of stilettos and several lumber jackets, they might think I’m one of them.

  I’m going to open with a congratulatory remark about the team having blind side flankers in their membership. Now that’s real equal opportunity!

If I survive the night, I’ll let you know how I go.

 

If adolescence isn’t hard enough to cope with, then surviving the final year of high school is certainly one of life’s major challenges.

All Saints, an independent high school in Perth Western Australia, is striving to give their final year students the key to success and survival by holding a one-day workshop before the start of first term. This is a new initiative and is being trialled this year.

The day will include lots of good information and advice to students on such things as study techniques, how to use memory effectively, and how to change negative thinking into positive thinking.

I have been invited to kick start the day with a keynote address, to motivate the kids, and I’m really looking forward to it.

I think the school is really concerned about helping their students get through their big year. I only wish this sort of thing had been around in my time! I could have done with better study techniques!

You can read more about my presentation here 

On Sunday December 3, I am going to the Celebrate Ability Convention in Perth at the Perth Convention Centre

This is a free day, designed to showcase adapted equipment and craft that can be used by people with disabilities to join in recreational activities. A bio-medical engineer, Darren Lomman of Dreamfit is behind some amazing inventions, such as a hand controlled motor cycle which can be ridden by a paraplegic.

The theme of the day is that people with disabilities can get out there and enjoy recreational hobbies, just like anyone else. There is always a way around things, and Darren and his team have proved that with their wonderful inventions.

I am really excited to be one of the guest speakers on the day. My message will be never to give up, no matter what, which is the consistent theme in my book, Beyond the Red Door. My book will be available on the day for buying and I will autograph copies.

The convention is open to everybody. I hope to see you there. 

On Saturday night, I did something I never thought I would - I went to a soccer match.

I was invited as a guest speaker to attend a pre-event function at the Perth Glory home game. The room was full of anticipation: the Glory hadn’t won for a while, and everyone was feeling nervous. Not knowing anything about soccer, I wasn’t sure what I would make of it, whether I’d get “the bug”.

Well, I did! What an exciting game! With only about ten seconds to spare, the Glory silenced their critics and scored the winning goal. The crowd literally roared and didn’t stop for ages. A live game really rules over watching it on the TV.

I’ll be watching the team closely in the future…might even go to another game. 

I was invited to present to another of the National Young Leaders’ Day events in Perth on Friday. This time, I was speaking to year ten and eleven students from all around WA - last time, it was the year six and seven kids.

I went in wondering how I would connect with this older group, whether they would laugh at my little jokes and asides, whether they would respond to my story and find it interesting. The younger group had been so involved with my last talk and I’d had so much fun. But I thought back to my adolescence and what I was like, and I just wasn’t sure how to pitch my presentation.

But I came away feeling very humbled. In the short time I was there, this group made a huge impression on me. They were responsive, confident, thoughtful, full of fun, and incredibly appreciative. I just wish I’d been like them when I was their age. It is fantastic to see our potential community leaders in one mass.

Go for it guys!