By: Sarah Green
I never considered myself a good singer. Yet, here I was, seven years old and standing in front
of the entire congregation of my church. Granted, about thirty or forty other kids were on the
stage with me; as one of the tiniest children there, however, I was shoved right to the front. With
guitar strums echoing from the speaker, I opened my mouth automatically and writhed silently
until we were dismissed.
of the entire congregation of my church. Granted, about thirty or forty other kids were on the
stage with me; as one of the tiniest children there, however, I was shoved right to the front. With
guitar strums echoing from the speaker, I opened my mouth automatically and writhed silently
until we were dismissed.
Needless to say, I was not too fond of the stage. Would I sing a song? Not a chance. Would I do
a TED Talk? Never happening. Could I at least walk up to receive an award? Unlikely.
I was a moth; sure, one with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder, but that meant I had a flame. It
was public speaking.
I first became drawn to the enticing glow when I entered the Chief Science Officer program. For
those that don’t know, Chief Science Officers are 6th-12th grade student leaders and STEM
ambassadors. As I did community service with the program and practiced networking with
STEM professionals, I was often complimented by my instant “radio-ready” voice. Encouraged, I
continued to practice public speaking.
One day, I was asked at the last minute to do an interview in front of hundreds of people at the
Barrett Jackson Auto Show and STEM Festival. Every fiber in my body begged me to say no,
but I was already talking about my experience as a Chief Science Officer on stage.
I have been utterly ablaze in the flame of public speaking since. In fact, I regularly speak at
panels, conferences, festivals, etc. Still, I could not keep this fire to myself. I train hundreds of
students across the globe, from Florida to India, in public speaking and professional
development. Most notably, I just developed a training about storytelling that was successfully
piloted.
I will be traveling to a few states in the coming months, passing the torch to others. The best
part of discovering how to tell my story is seeing the countless other narratives igniting after
helping them.
