Two weeks back, we lost a member of our Syracuse family, Rob Edson.
Click here to watch a video from the memorial service.
Thomas' portion begins around 53:00 mark.
I make my living teaching executives how to speak in front
of an audience. It’s good business since
speaking in public is reported to be at the top of most people’s “greatest
fears” list – even higher than insects and flying.
Most people I encounter in the business world are just
average speakers, if that. Like many
golfers, they do what they can to get by.
If they take a lesson or two, they get a little better, but they’re
usually just getting by. Exceptional
speakers have to work really hard at polishing their skills, connecting with
the audience and delivering with confidence.
And most people still fall short.
They hit in the 90s on their best day.
That’s why I’m so busy.
My classes are usually small – 8 to 10 people—which is
designed to put the executives at ease.
Too many eyeballs looking back at you makes many a corporate presenter’s
veins run cold. I often tell my students
that it is rare in the business world that they will have an extra-large
audience, say, more than 250 people, since most business presentations take
place in a conference room and rarely involve more than 30 or so people. “Come see me for private coaching when you
get a job that requires you to speak to 500-plus,” I tell them, “You’re going
to need some extra help.” The small size
of my classes is designed to simulate their reality and to make them more
comfortable, but they rarely are.
And then there’s the video camera. The best way to show a presenter what she
looks like in front of an audience is to tape her in action. Often, the very presence of the camera
creates a complete and total meltdown for some class participants. They just can’t get over it. It paralyzes them. They lose their place. And it’s usually the camera’s fault.
So now you have an audience staring at you and a video
camera mounted in the back of the room and now you need to remember what you’re
supposed to say? It’s nearly
impossible. There are just too many
things to think about. Too many
variables to manage in your head. It’s
like when the golf pro tells you to mind your shoulders, and your hips, and
your grip on the club, and…oh just a few more small things. It’s just too much pressure.
How, then, can a 14 year old boy give the speech of a
lifetime with little or no training? How
can a boy, who just days before spent countless minutes administering CPR to
his lifeless 45 year-old father deliver such a moving eulogy so effortlessly? The cards were most certainly stacked against
Thomas on this crisp fall morning. So
many things working against him. One, he
is 14 years old. Two, his father’s death
was sudden and profound and completely unexpected. Three, Thomas is the one who found him that
fateful night. Four, it is just too hard
to face the tragedy of all this. Five,
he is 14 years old. And he has certainly
never had to make a speech quite like this one.
Inside the chapel there are more than 1,100 mourners – many
family members and friends (all familiar faces to Thomas) and even more
officials, University administrators and perhaps a few celebrities from the
sports world. Add to that the video
camera --that very camera whose mere presence petrifies men three or four times
Thomas’ age in years. The camera is
running and broadcasting Thomas’ words to more than 1,500 on-line viewers. Thomas is not phased. And he is 14 years old.
Fourteen-year old Thomas Edson gave the most profound, the most
moving and yes, the most composed speech that this presentation skills coach
has ever--bar none--seen. He delivered with
compassion and with courage. That day,
he hit par. His nervousness was natural,
not awkward; and his pacing was melodic –sometimes funny, often serious and
always perfect. Under the most daunting
circumstances, Thomas Edson proved what we all wondered about this 14 year old child
who has just lost his father and his coach and his travelling companion. That he is, indeed, a man. That he has the confidence and courage and
character to make it no matter what obstacles life puts in front of him. That he can take on the tasks that make men
30 and 40 years his senior shudder. But
there’s only one problem. He’s 14 years
old. And he deserves to be a kid.
#RiseUpForRob
