Last Thursday at our meeting we met this woman named Laura. She works with C.E.O.s and other entrepreneurs to better themselves in public speaking. She gave us a lesson and I’d love to share what we learned. So, first off she opened up the meeting with a question, what do we want to be when we grow up? Well I told her I was unsure but I knew what my major was going to be, sociology and that I still wanted to work with the community as I do now. I didn’t think this was going to be a lesson but as you’ll see later on it was. So after she taught us something she learned when she took sociology : ]] ,the iceberg. For those of you who are going “whaaaat?? What the heck is a iceberg?” well my understanding of it is that a iceberg is a huge icicle/ice that floats in the water and the way Laura explained it is that only a portion of the iceberg is above the surface but the rest of the huge thing is sitting below the water. Anyways, she had us think of things that are below the surface that effect our behavior what others see on the outside(above the surface). Some of the things we said were family, peers, religion, and culture just to name a few. I didn’t know about the iceberg technique and it really interested me.  She went on with the lesson teaching us how to stand firm and just the right amount to gesturing without making it feel like “too much”. She had some of my teammates demonstrate first on their own then she guided them and told them what to change, other helpful hints and let them try again. I definitely seen a improvement from the first time they went up and spoke compared to the second time. I learned so much. So, I’m guessing your still wondering how the question she asked us was the very beginning of our lesson. Well, she taught us that when we first start the meeting ask them a question about themselves or tell them a attention-grabbing story that will get them more relaxed and calm so the meeting doesn’t feel tense. And it’s a sure way of making sure you won’t “lose” them halfway through the meeting. After this meeting I know I will be able to execute all that I learned from Laura the next time I present or even run my first meeting. I will way more prepared than I was before she taught us, that’s for sure!!