I recently volunteered to be a reading dad at school. I had some spare time and made my daughter very happy by volunteering. The aim was to read a little of the BFG. Easy, right? <\/p>\n
To prepare, I practised my facial expression and intonations in the mirror at home. <\/p>\n
Anyway, I have lots of experience with presentations. I had been in front of large groups of people many times. On a stage. Skilfully zigzagging the laser pointer along the slides. <\/p>\n
But when I entered the classroom full of 8-year-olds, I couldn\u2019t breathe all of a sudden. No one was playing with their phone. No walking back and forth. No whispering in the background. No, just 26 pairs of children\u2019s eyes were looking at me, inquisitively and expectantly. <\/p>\n
With a red face and soaking armpits, I began reading, muttering and stuttering. Little remained of the intonations. My facial expressions were safely shielded behind the cover of the book. <\/p>\n
After I spoke the last word of the last sentence of my recital, there was a moment of silence. Then, I was rewarded with a heartfelt applause. A great weight fell off my shoulders. <\/p>\n
Some children came up to me and said triumphantly: \u201cSir, your head is really red\u2026\u201d. But also: \u201cWhat an exciting story, how does it end?\u201d <\/p>\n
The attention and acknowledgement made me proud as punch. Rarely have I felt such satisfaction. <\/p>\n
Honest, sincere feedback is priceless! <\/p>\n
As a HR Consultant and HR Coach, I like to pay attention to giving (and receiving) feedback. If you would like to find out more, contact me. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I recently volunteered to be a reading dad at school. I had some spare time and made my daughter very happy by volunteering. The aim was to read a little … <\/p>\n