Last night was my third toastmasters speech, which was "organize the speech" or something similar. I wanted to talk about sorority recruitment, as this is currently the week that UNL has "rush." (I know, scandalous that I just called it that!) I though when I wrote it, it could be super funny and light and fun, while also being very organized and to the point. And then I wrote it, practiced it, and hated it. It was none of the above.
When I got to the podium, however, I was struck with inspiration, and it ended up being super funny and light and fun, and everyone laughed. I was not nervous, I did hand gestures, and again, improvised it. It was an awesome feeling, and I was really proud of what I had come up with.
I think it was the first lesson in speaking. I thought initially that because I could write speeches that were good, I could give speeches that are good. But there is a huge difference, because with speaking, what you come up with on the fly (that's right, you don't PLAN it) ends up being better than what you wrote.
However, here's the written out speech. And because my improved first line made me laugh a lot, I'll share it first, so you can see the difference.
Improved First Line: I am not a typical sorority girl, as I quickly learned while trying to discuss The Sun Also Rises with the guy manning the keg at a frat party. (and yes, my speech had other references to The Sun Also Rises. It's like it's my favorite book or something.)
In contrast, here is my written out speech:
Certain times of the year always bring back memories for me, and this week is one of them. For four years in college, I spent the week before school started at sorority recruitment—and, if I’m being honest, four years in college, I spent the week before that dreading it. But now that I’m no longer actually part of the sorority recruitment process, it’s easier to see that despite how hard it is, I learned valuable lessons those four years.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the sorority recruitment process as a “potential new member,” it is a week-long opportunity to visit houses on campus to see which is right for you before accepting a bid to join a house. You visit eight houses the first day, five the second, and three the third. You see slideshows and skits, eat lots of food, and participate in lots of small talk and singing. That’s right—singing. After all of this, you make your choice and hope that the house you want also wants you and you’ll get to go there on the last day, bid day.
That first year, going through the process I just described, I learned that no matter how much you stress out about something, everything works out in the end. I had not intended to go through sorority recruitment, and when I decided to, I did a lot of research on the houses I thought I wanted to be a part of. I recently found these notes, and the house I ended up in was the one with the least amount of notes. But looking back, it was the house that I was most comfortable in, and the house where I connected with most of the girls. I spent so much of that week crying and worrying and stressing over not getting into the right house, that I didn’t even realize that maybe I had already found the right house all along. Seven years later, I still worry and stress and maybe even cry about other situations, but it’s easier for me to see that what’s right will happen whether I worry or not.
As I went through my freshman year, I couldn’t wait for the next recruitment season. There was no way that it could be any harder than what I’d gone through the year before, because now, I was in control. But I was way wrong. It was harder. On top of all of the prep work that goes into recruitment week, you have to learn how to talk to potential new members. I believe this was my earliest introduction to small talk with a purpose. While talking to potential new members, you not only had to learn enough about them to see if they would be a good fit for the house, but also keep them interested in the house, sell them on the house, and hope they didn’t actually hear how bad of a singer you are. However, I find that I use these skills in my current job—the small talk skills, not the singing skills. I have to know what I’m talking about, sell people on what I’m talking about, and do so in a short period of time.
I was actually excited about recruitment the summer before my junior year. I was ready to move back into the house with my best friend and see everyone again. I was no longer going through recruitment, I had hopefully mastered the skills necessary to be successful at recruitment, and my best friend was in charge of the food, which meant that when I was helping her, I got to actually leave the house. Certainly this would be the best year. And it almost was. The first day, I was out giving house tours and meeting girls, but by the second day, I was back helping Meagan in the kitchen. My biggest fear going into the sorority process the two years before was that I would get caught up in girl drama, which is not me, and let’s just say that recruitment brings out a lot of girl drama. The lesson that year, perhaps the most valuable lesson I learned, was the importance of standing up for what you believe in.
The last year, I had taken over the kitchen, and while I learned how to shop and prepare acceptable recruitment food for hundreds of girls, the lesson I learned during my final recruitment was the value of memories. Even though it seems like I learned a lot of hard lessons during the first three years, my last year was one I’ll never forget. Because it was fun. On top of being in charge of the kitchen, Kaitlyn and I lived off campus, which gave us a lot more freedom than living in the house did. The memories of us goofing off in the kitchen while making fruit pizza and driving around to every grocery store looking for flavored syrups are simple, but they are happy. And in terms of the house, the traditions that we did every year during recruitment had more meaning as a senior, and really encapsulated everything a sorority can be. So while not as valuable or applicable to my professional live, this lesson applies to my every days, and lets me think fondly back on my sorority recruitment.
Rereading this today, I think that this is much more organized than what I actually gave, but apparently that didn't matter as much as I thought it did. I have to admit though, the problem with just improvising is how excited I get. Excited Whitney is fast-talking Whitney, which apparently doesn't bode well for speaking. Oh well.
