Eating the Elephant

So one of my New Year’s Resolutions this year was to get into Public Speaking…

I kind of achieved that goal when I started working for the University as a Student Ambassador and began running workshops with High School kids. The thing is though, to be completely honest with you, running workshops with school kids on Journalism and Public Relations was always in my comfort zone.

Then, an opportunity came up when I was asked to run a workshop at #ONEWorldSummit in Melbourne. A group of highly motivated, inspired youth leaders makes an awesome audience and I was instantly excited… but also instantly nervous. I took this as a good sign.

I was initially asked to speak on Project Management. “Sure”, I thought, “I run lots of little projects, I manage my time effectively and can organise a team through from initiation of an idea to it’s execution”, but something just wasn’t right. This audience are changemakers, I want to inspire them.

I just so happened to be given a Book…

The book was called “How to Eat an Elephant” and it was about making little changes to your daily habits and routine to become healthier and more mindful. I thought the idea was great – to take this massive and somewhat arbitrary vision of “becoming more healthy and mindful”, and breaking it down into manageable chunks to actually get going and take the steps which will get you closer to the goal. I started to think that this applied to all big goals in life, and the reason we often get stumped on a goal and can talk about it but find it hard to take action is that it seems so bloody big. I’m pretty confident all of us have at some point or another been faced with a vision or a problem to which our initial response is “Where do I even begin?!”

So I Changed My Angle, to Tackling the Elephant

I have taken some of the most useful theories, concepts and exercises which I have come across that have helped myself and others close to me break our goals into manageable chunks. The following presentation should have enough information on it to be useful even if you weren’t in the workshop, and my details are in the opening and closing slides if you would like any further information. You can also contact me here.

 

ONEWorldSummit Workshop 2014 – Being Effective and Eating the Elephant from Aisha Kellaway

It’s one thing to care and be passionate about a cause or a goal, it’s another thing to actually figure out how to tackle it, much like ‘eating an elephant’. In This workshop on effectiveness, we’ll be breaking down the huge goals and passions we have into manageable chunks. A number of exercises and activities inspired by awesome change makers around the world, focusing on your own goals, will have you looking more analytically at your vision, your thinking and your actions. You’ll leave ready to take that first or next step towards achieving your dream and making change!