Get Vertical!
In two days I will be speaking at a Toastmasters meeting. I have really enjoyed the opportunities that Toastmasters offers for developing speaking skills. While it’s desirable to present a prepared speech, what I enjoy most are the impromptu speeches that we give during the table topics section of the meeting. There’s normally great tension during table topics - sweat and tears dripping from members faces anxious that they would be asked to speak when they are not ready. What keeps me going every week when we meet is a statement I was once told by a mentor - “It’s all about getting vertical”. So, every time I’m asked to speak on an impromptu topic, I get vertical and deliver the goods.
In our every day dealings, do we spend too much time on the horizontal that we fail to see our potential in the vertical? Is life all about what’s happening around us? Think about this. In a meeting, when you are horizontal you are sitting down but when you are vertical you are standing up. By getting vertical we can gain a bird’s eye view so that we have a bigger picture of what’s possible. Isn’t it instructive that surgeons are always vertical when operating on their patients? In order to perform their task with precision they need an elevated view of their subject.
In the vertical we have an opportunity to be creative while in the horizontal we are always reactive. Creativity comes when we can ’C’ things differently. Notice that the difference between creative and reactive is in where you place the ‘c’. In being creative you ‘c’ first and then develop a game plan. In being reactive you ‘c’ in the midst of the situation. How do you ’c’ (see)? Do you use foresight or hindsight? Get vertical. C first!
