These past two weeks, I’ve learned so much about the Denver community I’ve immersed myself into.
Mainly, that the community runs in small circles & people are well inter-connected. I went to two events last week where I ran into colleagues I wasn’t expecting to see; we walked up to each other & asked, “How did you get here? Who do you know?”
This is the feeling that makes me happy here in Denver: it is a metropolitan area (albeit smaller than SF & NYC) yet the community runs small like my hometown. I like that delicate balance.
In this past week, I’ve noticed more how people are with their time. I’ve been running a cynical joke in my head about the difference between graduate students and “real world” people: graduate students think their time is so valuable that they cannot make it to a mentor meeting or what-have-you. “Real world” people, i.e., other businesspeople, meanwhile will make the time for important connections….even informational interviews.
I say this as being cynical because I notice how some of my peers have acted with some invitations. Yes, time is money, but would you really turn down a valuable connection’s invitation for lunch? Dinner? With the excuse of “I’ve been SO busy.”
Do you think that your time is that much more valuable than your connection’s time?
I had sent out an email to a colleague earlier this week asking to see if this person had time to meet this summer for lunch or coffee or whatnot. This person replied saying the same thing as above: “I’m too busy.”
I understand that people have packed schedules. I have a crazy schedule, too. Thank goodness for Google Calendar; it keeps all my appointments, engagements in order. I’ve had scheduling issues with a few of my connections, but we have volleyed emails back and forth to find a time that will work for both of us. THIS is how you should handle time issues: don’t just walk away and say “I’m TOO BUSY” and make the other person feel like their time is not valuable. Work out a time to meet with that person, even if you believe you will not do business with them in the future.
I find that many people don’t realize the power of connections. Say “no” to one person, and you could be closing the door on many opportunities. I don’t like being treated like a commodity, so I value all the connections I make, no matter big or small. People are … human. We’re not commodities. So don’t treat your connections, colleagues, etc. as if they’re commodities.
I used to be quite sensitive when it came to how people would pronounce my name.
(I’m feeling a little deja-vu writing this….have I talked about this before?)
When I was in elementary school, I became upset around Valentine’s Day..ALL THE TIME. This was mainly because we were to exchange V-Day cards with our classmates…and none of my classmates ever spelled my name right.
“HELLEN”
“HELENA”
“HELEN”
“HELEEN”
– sad face –
Growing up, it’s always been an issue when I introduce myself–somehow people never know how to pronounce “Helene”.
“Helen?”
“Elaine?”
“Eileen?”
“Pauline?”
I must say my name strangely or something. When it came to meeting people only once, I’d let them say “Helen” because it was easier to let them say that than to correct them & never meet them again.
I used to get prickly about closer friends saying “Helen”.
Over the weekend, I realized that it doesn’t matter. My mentor and her family called me “Helen” the whole evening I was at their house. I found the way they said “Helen” was very endearing. And I didn’t have the heart to correct them.
After that night, I wondered if there’s a way for me to stylize my name; make it into “Helen/e” so people can call me either interchangeably. It’s a weird thought. But it’s possible. “Helen” is growing on me, although I prefer “Helene” more because of its uniqueness.
Since it was my first time attending the event (and, on top of that, PRESENT at the event), I wasn’t sure how things were going to go. I admit, I was nervous and seems the other presenters could sense my nervousness through my tweets.
When I got up on stage, though, all those nerves turned to excitement. I presented with passion, zeal, etc. as I talked about my trek in life being Asian-American, stuck between two worlds. After the show, both strangers and colleagues came up to me to tell me how well I did. It was a new feeling for me; to have complete strangers walk up to me and tell me, “Loved your talk.”
I posted the picture above on my Facebook profile at the end of the night; this morning I woke up with 20+ likes as old and current friends alike showed support. Now I have everyone hyped up for the Youtube clip, whenever that will be.
My takeaways from the event: well, certainly this confirms that I love public speaking. Yes, I get nervous still, but it seems even the pros feel that way, regardless of how long they’ve been standing in front of others, speaking.
I am so blessed to know so many awesome people in Denver, though; I recognized people from the Denver Bee (late April). Even met a couple great friends in-person (finally) after tweeting with them for several months. I’m getting better at doing tweetups these days; I don’t feel it’s strange to meet someone off the Internet anymore.
I just feel amazed at how easily the Denver community embraces us transplants. I’ve only been here since last August and already I feel that I am well-known in certain circles. Am looking forward to many more opportunities to meet more Denverites in the coming months.
If you knew me from my hometown, you’d never expect for me to speak in front of large crowds. As many of us know, public speaking is the number one fear people have. People would rather DIE than present in front of others!
Well, tomorrow night, I will be speaking in front of a large crowd, and it’s all by choice. I’ll be speaking at Ignite Denver 11.
Why would I do this?
I remember even in my undergraduate days that I’d freeze up during presentations, holding my notecards so tightly that I’d wrinkle them. Yet, I also remember how I began to blossom into public speaking during my junior year. I would take the crowd by storm with this invisible force around me.
I did that at a pitch competition a few months ago. Got up in front of a small crowd and really put my words out there. And tomorrow, I’ll do the same, except in five minutes. It seems, when I speak about topics that are near and dear to me, I am much more effective with how I present.
After my pitch competition, I remember one of the other contestants basically said to me, “You’d be a great lobbyist, or politician.” And that just makes my head spin, thinking that a little mouse like me could ascend to such a public figure.
Well, now I must go back and rehearse my spark a few more times before I sleep. Anticipating a good night tomorrow.
