I play the piano! Yes, done my grades, used to teach it (along with other instruments) – even conducted a wind band, when I used to play the trumpet. Why do I mention this?
Well, the other day I was asked to do (an extended) assembly for one of my ex-student’s school assembly on multiculturalism. He’s a teacher at a High School. The thing is, I’m petrified of speaking to school kids and I don’t know why lol So, I was racking my brain as to what to say? The challenge was not so much with what to say as to how to connect with teenagers in an engaging way. Those of you who do public speaking will know that the fundamental rule is to ‘engage’ the audience.
Anyway, I had a brain-wave, and the thought came to me, “Why don’t I use my piano skills to make the presentation more interactive?” My therapist would probably say that I was hiding behind the piano and I wouldn’t disagree. Well, I decided to talk about the legacy of Negro Spirituals, and how we even sing them on the terraces at rugby and football matches. Then after playing a few ditties, I moved on to say that as human beings we are more connected to each other’s background and culture than we think – our histories, lineages, spaces, beliefs, Faiths. This is part of why we say we are multicultural Britain.
The teens were astonished and yet open to the truth that there’s a bit of me in them and them in me. And playing the piano helped me to tell that story. So, what other string do you have to your bow – excuse the pun – that might even seem extraneous to what you professionally do on LinkedIn, but might somehow and in a creative way help you to deliver your work? You never know? It might open another, creative way to engage your audience.