Sleepless Nights, Productive Nights

Since my son, Cash, was born last month, I have been up all hours of the night feeding, changing, burping, and rocking him.  But not all has been lost by these sleepless nights. 

Click here to find out what I have been doing to make these nights productive and beneficial! 

And, as a reminder, I have moved my blog to www.Sieverkropp.com.  Please head on over there and subscribe so you dont miss a single post!  As of the begininng of 2013, I don't know how much I will be updating this site (soon I wont at all.). 

Thanks!

Sleepless Nights, Productive Nights

As you probably already know, I am moving my blog to my new site, www.Sieverkropp.com

Today I posted a new post, "Sleepless Nights, Productive Nights" on that site.  Here is a preview,

"As many of you may know–and some may not–my wife and I welcomed our second child (and first son) Cash Ryan Sieverkropp into the world on November 26th, 2012. We are delighted to have him, and as biased as this may sound, he is honestly the best looking kid around!
Of course, as any parent will understand, this has thrown a 7lb 5oz monkey wrench into our family’s schedule..."
 

Continue reading at http://sieverkropp.com/2012/12/sleepless-nights-productive-nights/

The Parable of the Waiter

A few weeks back I had the great opportunity to guest post for Lily Kreitinger.  In that post, titled Got The T-Shirt, I put forth an analogy that seemed to resonate with many of the readers and commenters on Lily's blog.  Because of that, I wanted to share this analogy with you. 

 

Photo courtesy of zoetnet, some rights reserved.

 

 

Imagine This...



Ok, so imagine this.  You walk into a restaurant and sit down.  Now, when I say restaurant, I mean a good restaurant--No paper napkins, and no yellow or red in the logo--just so we're clear. 

 

When you walk in, you are met by a smiling host or hostess that welcomes you to the restaurant, asks how many in your party, and asks you to please follow her to your table.  You sit down, the hostess gives you your menu and tells you that your waiter will be with you shortly.

 

When the waiter walks to your table, what do you notice?  Is he well dressed? Does she smile and seem friendly? Is she knowledgeable in what is being offered on the menu?

 

You notice all of these things and each of them, to some extent, affects your dining experience. 

 

But what affects your dining experience more than anything?  I would venture to guess it is the food! (and we all know Chris LoCurto is gonna LOVE a post about food!)

 

I say this because you go to a restaurant to eat good food.  Yes, you want to have great service, and if the service stinks, you probably won't go back, but you really are most interested in the food. 

 

The Analogy

Now let me tie this all together. 

 

Let's look at this experience in regards to speaking in front of a group, or teaching a group.  If we are to use the above experience as an analogy, who would be the waiter? The diners? The food? The service and appearance of the waiter?

 

Here's my suggestion:

 

As the speaker or teacher, you are the waiter.  Your audience, the diners.  The food that they came hoping to enjoy is the information that you are putting forth in your speech, training, or lesson. 

 

Now, where does the service and appearance come in? 

 

The appearance and service is your appearance as the presenter as well as your speaking/teaching skills. 

 

Are these important? 

 

Absolutely!

 

No one wants to listen to, or be taught by, a slob.  And if you speak like Ben Stein's character in Ferris Beuller's Day Off, no one will stay awake! 

 

You have GOT to learn and hone the skills of public speaking (Check out Lily's series on public speaking for great ideas).  But in doing so, I fear sometimes we forget that, in reality, the information you are presenting is the. most. important. part.

 

So, my challenge to you: As you speak and teach remember the parable of the waiter!  Remember that as important as it is that you relate to your audience, smile, tell compelling stories, and speak clearly, you are simply the vehicle to convey your information.

 

Speaking and teaching IS NOT about you!  Speaking and teaching is about conveying information that will benefit your audience.

 

 

Question: How does this parable affect how you look at speaking and teaching others?

 

 

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my musings.  If you find value in these posts, please subscribe to this blog and share this post with those around you!

 

 

 

Twitter: @Skropp2

"The phone's for you, it's the Bishop..." Part II

"The phone's for you, it's the Bishop..."
 

Ok, quick, you hear those words, how many excuses can you come up with in 10 seconds?? "Gee Bishop, My family is going to be in town this week, and Brooklynn's coming down with a cough and there's a huge solar storm that's suppose to hit the earth late Saturday night or early Sunday morn..."

So what does that call usually lead to?

Last week we talked about 8 Tips to Preparing a Conference-Caliber Talk. This week, let's go over 7 Ways to keep Grandpa awake and Jr. Quiet.

Ok, that's a tall order, but these tips will make the presentation of your talk 77.36% better, or your money back!*

Visualize the entire congregation in their bunny slippers
ok, that probably do very little, but feel free to try it out! Ok, take two...ACTION!!

Pray
Before going up to speak, pray to have the Spirit with you...then LISTEN to it when you speak.

Don't tell about what you thought when the Bishop called you
We all know the feeling, it's not necessary to explain how much you didn't want to talk.

If you tell a joke, make sure it's pertinent to your topic
Natural humor is funny, canned jokes get old fast!

Remember you have a unique perspective
At this moment, you are the conduit for the Father to teach His children, take comfort in that and seek to say what He would have you say.

15 minutes means 15 minutes
My Mission President taught me this one. The bishopric plans out the meetings, that's why they give us a time frame. If they say 15 minutes, don't speak for 16, and don't speak for 13. This keeps the meeting on track.

Smile
Take joy in the Gospel. Let the Prophet Joseph's view in D&C 128:22-23 permeate through your talk.

Testify
Bear testimony frequently THROUGHOUT your talk, not just at the end. It invites the Spirit to confirm your words to those who hear it.


By employing 7, or at least some of these suggestions, you will have a better chance of keeping Grandpa awake and Jr. quiet, not a 100% chance, but better.  And the great part is, that those listening should learn something, and you will invite the Spirit, and we all know that the Spirit is the most important part of any talk! 

Question: What suggestions do you have for giving a great Sacrament Meeting talk?





*Offer not valid in Alaska, Hawaii, the continental United States, or any of the 7 major continents. Most restrictions apply! :)



If you find value in these posts, please share them with your family and friends (and even strangers, I really don't mind!)

"The phone's for you, it's the Bishop..." Part I

"The phone's for you, it's the Bishop..."

Ok, quick! You hear those words, how many excuses can you come up with in 10 seconds??

I'll bet most of you would suddenly be sick in your hotel room, on vacation and not sure when you were coming home!  It's funny how such humble, God-like men can elicit such general feelings of panic and horror when they call on the phone or catch you in the hall by their office!

So what does that call usually lead to?

"We'd like you to speak in Sacrament Meeting next week..."

"Will you accept a call to..."

"In reviewing the tithing records we discovered you've overpaid and are due to receive a refund"

"I just got off the phone with the Prophet, he wanted me to let you know your calling and election has been made sure..."

Ok, the last two are pretty unlikely--probably totally out of the question--but the first two are really what freak each of us out, right?

So this week, I want to give you 8 tips to preparing a conference-caliber talk!

Consider this a "Speech Buffet", take all to want, leave what you don't!

Pray
The moment I hear I'm giving a talk, I pray and ask for Heavenly Father to bring thoughts to my mind. When I do this, I invariable get ideas at random times...like making a sandwich (true story, ask my mission buddy, Elder Busath, more than once, while making a PB&J sandwich I'd say, "Elder! I just received revelation!!").

DON'T start writing the talk right away
(unless Bishop called you Saturday night or Sunday morning...then by all means, write fast!!). I've found if I begin writing right away I will limit the thoughts and ideas I get on the subject. I will typically not actually write my talk until 24-36 hours before I am to give it.

Ask for input from friends and family
I believe one of the keys to a great talk is kicking around numerous thoughts, ideas and perspectives in your head for a few days. Getting ideas from others and testing your ideas on them gives you a good sense of how to direct the talk to benefit the audience.

Structure your talk around the Plan of Salvation
Elder Bruce R. McConkie was the master of this. Every talk I've heard of his, regardless the topic, included the pre-earth life, atonement, and eternities. Doing this provides the necessary context to drive home the importance of any gospel topic.

Write in note/bullet format
I know many of you have to write out your talk word for word, and I understand.  But if you can do it, notes and bullets are great for inviting the Spirit. Making notes or bullets instead of writing your talk out word for word will allow you to deliver the talk in your own voice, rather than sounding like you're reading an article out of the Ensign. This also allows you to skip parts if time requires.

Utilize the Church Resources
From mobile apps to the notebook function and search bar on lds.org you have a MASSIVE library of material from which to draw in writing your talk. The Brethren have provided such resources, don't miss out on their benefit.

Use the language of the Scriptures
Even if you don't quote the scriptures word for word or give the reference, using the verbiage of scripture brings the word of the Lord and the voice of the Lord to your talk (see how I did that? D&C 68:4) .  Elder McConkie and Elder Maxwell were great at this!

Determine what you uniquely can convey about your topic
 If its on missionary work and your a convert, share parts of the story. If its on the importance of Personal Progress, talk about how you're helping your daughter with hers. I believe in revelation. You were asked to give this talk because Heavenly Father knew you have something to share that only you can. Discover what that is and share it!

By following these 8 steps as you prepare your Sacrament Meeting talk you will find that the Spirit will teach you and prompt you as to what you should say.  And as we all know, the Spirit is the real teacher when we speak, so do all you can to invite his influence into your talk! 

Question: How do you prepare a talk you are asked to give?

If you are finding value in these posts, please share them with family and friends (and heck, even strangers! I don't mind!).