Day 26…Your hidden talent 

If you’ve been hanging around this blog long enough, you probably know some of my talents already. I have talked about some of my favorite hobbies, including writing and singing. Nonetheless, I do have a hobby that most people don’t know about and that may even surprise some.

Public speaking. 

Now, even though I’m an extravert, I don’t necessarily come across super talkative offline. For the longest time, I thought that I was an introvert, until I took the Myers Briggs Personality Test, which confirmed otherwise (The test is here if you want to take it). I love being around people, but I hate having to be the one to carry the conversation. If I’m in a large group of people I don’t know well, my instincts tell me to stand in a corner and pretend to be busy on my phone. Plus, I’d often choose to read a good book over engaging in small talk with people who I’m not well acquainted with. Basically, I’m an extravert with introvert tendencies.

Which is why it is quite weird that I’m fairly comfortable giving a speech. Granted, I did take speech and debate classes during 8th and 9th grade, so perhaps that has something to do with it, but I honestly don’t know.

I suspect the reason public speaking comes more naturally than engaging in small talk is because I know what I’m going to say. I love being able to plan my words before I say them. With both writing and public speaking, I can plan my words and make sure everything sounds just right before presenting the material to an audience. When I’m speaking in conversation, it’s all left to improv.

Furthermore, I love the feeling of speaking about something that I believe will resonate with others. I have a deep seated desire to leave a mark in this world, and I want to say something that will remain after the speech has ended and the last words have been typed. It’s quite possible that I enjoy public speaking not so much for the event itself, but for the impact that I pray it makes. Whenever I speak about a topic I try to bring everything back to my faith and core values. Thus, public speaking has given numerous opportunity to share my faith and beliefs with my peers.

I’d love to hear about your secret talent and/or Meyers Briggs results if you decide to share! Always feel free to post your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below! 

P.S. I recently had an awesome opportunity to guest blog for The Recovering Legalist. The post is here if you want to check it out! 😊