Ever wondered what it is like to deliver an adventure talk? Well, read on and find out how my FIRST EVER adventure talk panned out…
How early is too early for an event? Is two hours early a bit over keen? I guess it must have been as I was the first person there. Other than the small but busy crowd of suits enjoying an early evening beer or two.
Very naughty! And on a school night as well!
I ordered myself a lime and soda and sat in the corner with the Evening Standard flicking through the information I’d been given for the evening.
I was due to speak at the June 2017 Yes Stories event in a small upstairs room in a pub in Piccadilly. Designed as an opportunity for individuals within the Yes Tribe to share their inspirational and incredible stories.
I’d be delivering one of 8 talks by an eclectic mix of individuals who had been on some epic and terrifying journeys. There was a guy who’d ran across the Sahara desert. A lady who had sailed the Antarctic. A lad who had walked the length of the USA.
And there was me, who had cycled for 3 and a half days in Thailand.
There is a seriously contagious infection among adventurers. It’s called ‘compare-itis’. I had a severe case of this right now. How could I compare my piddly little bike ride to these amazing expeditions? Why on earth would people want to listen to me when they had much more impressive people to listen to?
The first person I met, one of Yes Tribe leader Dave Cornthwaite’s very good friends, knocked me down to size straight away. The wonderfully grounded Jessie’s words of wisdom were that it was all just ‘Ego wank’.
That’s brilliant! I thought and completely forgot about my worries.
However, there is another disease that I am afflicted with, and no it wasn’t the incurable Crohn’s disease that one of the other speakers had. My ailment is called ‘imposter syndrome’. I was stood up there claiming to be an ‘Adventurer’ when I clearly didn’t feel it.
I recently read a very inspiring blogpost by the Ordinary Adventurer, Bex Band, where she talks about how she survived her first 6 months as an ‘Adventurer’. Her advice was to ‘Fake it until you make it’.
So fake it I did.
I was sat in the front row completely oblivious to the 2 sets of speakers who stood up before me. I was just running my talk endlessly through my mind. My heart hammered so hard in my chest that it felt like one of those cartoons where you can see the impression of their heart sticking out of some lustful chipmunk’s chest.
Weirdly my mind was really calm but I felt like I was going to be sick. It was like my brain was saying ‘Don’t worry, Jon. You got this,’ while my body was trying to throw itself out of the nearby window and run off down the street screaming.
Eventually, compere Andy Barlett, got up and introduced me.
I stood up and took off my trousers…
And if you want to see the rest of the talk, then you’ll have to watch the video here.
I don’t really remember what happened. My mind was a complete blank, like giving the talk was the equivalent to social Rohypnol. I didn’t realise until afterwards that I’d delivered the whole talk with only one sock on. I’d could hear laughter and applause as I sat down so it couldn’t have gone too badly.
‘They give training on how to deliver a talk,’ my brother-in-law Mike said at the interval. ‘You basically tore up the rule book.’ Is that a good thing? I’m not sure.
I'm pretty certain I wasn't swearing but you never know!
‘It was surprisingly good,’ was another back handed compliment I received from my supporters. Cheers!
But, in reality, that was the easy bit over. I’d delivered a talk which I’d practiced endlessly for pretty much 24 hours. My steering wheel had received that speech 4 times over so I’d known almost exactly what I was going to say. Next came the hard bit.
Socialising like a normal human being!!
You have no idea how hard it is for an introvert like me with the social skills of an aardvark! But that’s for another blog…
Loads of people told me how I was so brave to get up and tell my story, but realistically it was really easy. The good thing about telling your own story is that you know exactly what happened. You were there, weren't you?!
And, like some of the crowd at the end told me, the other adventures were amazing and incredible but my adventure was something that was achievable, and for them, far more accessible. So even if you think your story is a bit crap, it will definitely resonate with someone.
So what are you waiting for? Get off your arse, go find a venue and tell the world your story.
And invite me. I'd love to hear it!