Our last lecture was from Dionna Wilson on public speaking, and I really loved her insight and advice.  As much as we do presentations in school or give lessons in church, it’s always one of those things that has the ability to make our stomachs churn and our hands quiver.  I’ve gotten to the point where it’s not too big of a deal anymore, but I definitely know I could improve in this area and even lots of grown adults still don’t have this mastered, but public speaking is a part of everyone’s life in some way or another.

      One of the first tips Sister Wilson gave us was to really know our audience.  If we know their backgrounds, values, and affiliations, we can then find common ground with them and this automatically makes them want to listen a little more.  When you talk to people in terms that they are familiar with, they can understand better and then make connections with what you’re saying.  Along with this, it’s important to get your audience actually involved, whether it’s through a group activity, discussion, or just having them read quotes.  It keeps people’s attention and often, audience members will have very valuable insight that adds to your presentation.

      Another huge part of any speech is the preparation that goes into it.  She told us that during the research process, we should try to find 9 times as much information as we need.  NINE!  At first I was a little shocked at that number and thought it was overkill, but if you really think about it, the better you know a topic, the better equipped you are to teach it, answer questions, and especially in a church setting, start talking about things you weren’t originally planning to talk about (like if the Spirit prompts you to).  She also suggested that we practice a speech at least 13 times before we actually give it.  This number wasn’t as shocking because for really big presentations in school, I’ve definitely practiced this much, but I still think it’s something we neglect.  A lot of times, I’ll procrastinate and run out of time for practicing or just decide to wing it, but a speech will always be so much better if you’re not constantly reading off of notecards or forgetting what to say.

      In the middle of the lecture, Sister Wilson started telling a story.  I couldn’t figure out how the story had to do at all with public speaking, but it quickly captured the attention of the entire class and targeted our emotions.  Afterwards, she told us that she had given an example of an attention-getter, and we all saw that it had definitely worked!  She built curiosity and made it personal to her, and in the example she gave, she used it to also gain credibility with her audience.  Aside from just telling a story, some other effective ways to begin a speech are demonstrations, a thought-provoking question, audience participation, or even a song or dance if you’re brave.  But no matter how you decide to do it, grabbing the attention of your audience is a critical part of any speech.

      This lecture actually came at such a perfect time for me, so I was really grateful for all of the advice we were given.  Of course, with finals coming up, I have to give a couple speeches on various topics that count for a large part of my grade, including my book presentation in this class.  And this Sunday, our Relief Society presidency, which I’m a part of, is in charge of teaching the lesson, so I’ll be teaching for about a third of it.  I’m pretty comfortable in front of a group, but there’s a ton to public speaking that we don’t even think of a lot.  I have a lot I can still work on and I think if I apply what I learned in this lecture, I will be much more successful!

      This past week’s lecture from David Hatch and class activity on Monday had a very compelling message; the topic was ethical leadership.  I had a basic understanding of what ethics were, but I didn’t realize how important a role they play.  Tons of decisions that we make are based on ethics, and something we talked about was that moral and ethical values differ from person to person.  And even further, there are a lot of gray areas where we are forced to decide between two things we value.  In class, we did an activity where we were given situations and had to decide if we agreed or disagreed with the decision being made.  I didn’t expect to have such a hard time deciding on so many of them!  The answers were not obvious or clear cut, and they often involved letting one moral standard fall in order to keep another one.  What it all comes down to is what you value, so we were instructed to write a code of ethics for ourselves.

My Personal Code of Ethics:

1) I will always put my family and God as my highest priorities, and anything that conflicts with these priorities I will subordinate.

2) I will consistently put others above myself and find ways every day to serve those around me in meaningful ways.

3) I will always be obedient—foremost, to the commandments given to us by God, and also to the laws of the land or of any organization with which I am involved.

4) I will have integrity in all my endeavors, even if it means giving up something I want to be honest with others and true to my own values.

5) I will have compassion and continually strive to see things through new perspectives so that I can sympathize with others.

6) I will respect my family, friends, classmates, teachers, leaders, employers, and myself.

7) I will be trustworthy in everything I do and follow through with my responsibilities and obligations.

8) I will be accountable for my actions and make any reparations necessary to amend any of my mistakes.

      In leadership, being ethical in all you do is vital to your institution.  First of all, you need to establish yourself as ethical so that people will want to follow you and know that they can put their trust in you.  You need to lead for the right reasons and do what is right for the group, not for yourself.  Furthermore, you need to have a strong moral conscience so that you can avoid many problems that can plague an organization with weak ethical standards.  Aside from internal issues with ethics within a company, unethical decisions can sometimes even lead to financial or legal issues.  And the way that you can lead ethically is by setting clear standards, like this code of ethics, and never wavering from them.  By sending that message early on, people will realize you’re serious about it and won’t change your mind or be easily tempted to break your standards.  Ethical leadership, although it is a concept sometimes overlooked, is crucial to any successful organization.

      “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

      Ether 12:27 is one of my favorite scriptures and has helped me in times of struggle, so I really enjoyed this past week’s lecture from Vernon Heperi on utilizing strengths and weaknesses.  The concept that through the Atonement, we can overcome our weaknesses has always been a comfort to me, but there is another side to this: strengthening our strengths and using them to do the Lord’s will.  We learned in the lecture that it is important to be conscious of our strengths and weaknesses and to not compare them to anyone else’s.  Instead, we need to thank the Lord for the strengths and weaknesses He has given us because He gave them to us for specific reasons.  We need to have faith that He will bless us through our strengths and weaknesses if we seek to follow His commandments.   I have definitely experienced this in my life and come to realize that our weaknesses and challenges are a perfect opportunity to grow closer to the Lord.

      Heperi also pointed out that we need to be careful not to mistake a lack of confidence for humility.  Of course, we also have to be careful not to be prideful, but a healthy dose of confidence through the Lord is a very powerful thing and can greatly increase our ability to serve Him and build up His kingdom.  He gave us our strengths on purpose and expects us to identify what they are so we can use them for good.

      This week we all did a personal “SWOT” analysis—we identified our strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats to becoming better leaders.  It was interesting to see that all of my lists correlated with each other and they told me a lot about who I am as a leader and where I need to make improvements.  I realized that I am a lead by example and through service type of leader and I am very good one on one and in small groups, but I need to be a more vocal leader in larger groups.  It helps to identify your strength so you can figure out how to apply them to benefit those around you.

      In the lab on Monday, we talked further about strengths and weaknesses and talked in our project groups about our personal strengths and weaknesses.  It’s important to know our teammates strengths and weaknesses so that you can help them utilize them correctly.  When everybody knows their strengths, they can call on the right strength at the right time and it will strengthen the group as a whole.  Like the ingredients of a cookie, different members bring different things to the table.  One person may have the ability hold everyone together and often go unnoticed, like eggs in a cookie, and one person may have a bolder personality that more noticeably benefits the group, like the chocolate chips.  Every person can contribute in their own way, and through this unison and collaboration, as well as through a reliance on the Lord, the group will always find more success and individuals will have more growth.

      This past week’s lecture was from LaNae Valentine on motivating others.  She taught us that before motivating others, we must motivate ourselves, and she really exemplified that message.  She talked a lot about the Women’s Services and Resources center, and you could really tell how passionate she was about it and through her enthusiasm and care for that cause, she was able to motivate us.  She emphasized how we must speak up for our cause with courage and walk your talk.  This is so important because if you are trying to motivate someone to support your cause, they will be watching you to see if you really support it to determine whether it’s worth their time.

      In our lab this Monday, we had a “Time Warp Convention” where we were all assigned a different leader to play the role of and dress up as if we wanted to. (perfect for Halloween!)  Among the list of leaders were Cleopatra, Teddy Roosevelt, President Monson, Marilyn Monroe, Hitler, and a number of others from varying time periods, countries, positions, causes, and most importantly, with varying motivational styles.  It was interesting to hear about leaders that are often overlooked as leaders because they weren’t at all considered good people.  They all had different methods of gaining influence and rallying people up in support of them, and some methods were questionable.  Marilyn Monroe and Cleopatra, for example, used sex appeal and money to win people over, while Hitler used great speeches, propaganda, and charisma.

      The leader I was assigned was Mother Teresa, and unlike some of the other leaders at the “Convention”, her motives were very pure.  She became a nun at an early age and devoted her life to Christ.  She emulated the Savior through selfless service to others, especially the sick and the poor.  She started an organization called Missionaries of Charity, and made such an influence on the world that she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  It was interesting to learn about her leadership style in comparison with the leadership techniques we’ve been learning over the past weeks in this class. She was purely motivated by charity and love or others and for Christ, and consistently put herself last; she truly led as Christ led.  She had a clear vision and followed through on it despite opposition and challenges, and she knew how to communicate to a group to gather support for her cause.  She was a self-starter and didn’t let others affect her negatively.  Mother Teresa was an awesome example of a divine-centered leader, and we can really learn a lot about leadership through her.