I enjoy public speaking. But I don’t get to do it enough so I have set about creating ways to practice. My hope is to one day find a way to make a living using the skill. Until then, I keep thinking of ways to develop the skill. One way I have started this summer is by doing live video chats and other video spots on social media. I don’t expect anyone to notice the videos but when they do I’m not sure how to follow-up.

Since 2016, I have thought of ways to hone my public speaking skills. One way I did this was by creating a Cemetery Tour. This broadened into a presentation (complete with Power Point to make my presenting heart happy). But it wasn’t enough.

This summer I started doing Friday Evening Facebook chats. It was a rough start because the weather didn’t cooperate. So the first few chats were not actually on a Friday. But for the most part, it settled into a Friday evening thing. The chats would start with a few comments about my week and end with me reading a selection of my poems. The whole intent was to practice talking without having a formal talk prepared. Maybe some thoughts to guide me but overall it was intended to be off the cuff. While each video received some views the only person who actually watched the entire video was my sister. So, it felt like the perfect way to practice. It felt like I was hiding my practice in plain sight.

But that wasn’t enough. I wanted more.

Because I think I’m rather funny at times, I also did a couple of videos. These were not live but rather intended to be short clips with a funny comment or question.

The first one I did I asked about vests. I don’t understand what the point of a vest is so I asked the question. The first video I attempted was too long for FB and would not post. I shortened it. Lost some of the coherence and posted it on a Sunday afternoon. I assumed the only one that would see that would be my sister so I didn’t spend too much time on it.

For whatever reason, it caught a current and was swept downstream. Not sure how it happened but it ended up with 110 views, 68 likes, and 11 comments. None of which I responded to because I didn’t know how. I knew I was out of my depth. Which comments are legit and which ones have ulterior motives? I didn’t respond to any of them so when I posted my next video – which I believe was a far better representation of my work – it received hardly a view. It received my expected number of views and comments.

That first video was just a fluke. Social media is so flooded and crowded that I don’t think I’ll have to worry about anyone noticing my efforts again. Mainly because I don’t know how to handle a little scrutiny. Until I come up with a better way to practice my speaking skills, I will keep plugging away on this social media venue.