WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.429 --> 00:00:02.579 My name is Justin Graves and 2 00:00:02.579 --> 00:00:05.273 line:15% I'm the founder and owner of He's On Wheels. 3 00:00:05.273 --> 00:00:10.273 line:15% Which is a motivational speaking endeavor and blog, online. 4 00:00:10.456 --> 00:00:13.811 line:15% It talks about disability advocacy, civic engagement, 5 00:00:13.811 --> 00:00:16.771 line:15% community service, and the motto for the blog is 6 00:00:16.771 --> 00:00:19.371 life is all about what you've done for other people. 7 00:00:19.371 --> 00:00:22.262 More often than not, if I get a request I send them 8 00:00:22.262 --> 00:00:24.611 a form that I have on my website. 9 00:00:24.611 --> 00:00:27.040 line:15% It's just on my blog and it's a speaking request form and 10 00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:28.749 line:15% it has some very pointed questions. 11 00:00:28.749 --> 00:00:30.306 line:15% Some simple things like, what kind 12 00:00:30.306 --> 00:00:32.769 line:15% of A/V equipment will their be and what will the 13 00:00:32.769 --> 00:00:35.429 crowd size be, but also much deeper things like 14 00:00:35.429 --> 00:00:37.779 what is your organizations mission and 15 00:00:37.779 --> 00:00:40.509 what do you want to achieve by having me come in? 16 00:00:40.509 --> 00:00:43.621 That way I can have some actual learning objectives and 17 00:00:43.621 --> 00:00:45.749 outcomes for them that are associated 18 00:00:45.749 --> 00:00:47.731 with what they want to achieve. 19 00:00:47.731 --> 00:00:49.522 The idea that they can leave that room and 20 00:00:49.522 --> 00:00:53.221 line:15% they feel empowered to conquer that next challenge. 21 00:00:53.221 --> 00:00:55.930 line:15% Because through my presentations, I tell a lot of 22 00:00:55.930 --> 00:00:58.061 line:15% personal narratives and stories of 23 00:00:58.061 --> 00:01:00.971 line:15% instances where I was met with a hardship and 24 00:01:00.971 --> 00:01:05.440 this is the mindset that I had to overcome that hardship. 25 00:01:05.440 --> 00:01:09.029 Whether it was becoming paralyzed at the age of three. 26 00:01:09.029 --> 00:01:11.411 Whether it's getting fired from a job. 27 00:01:11.411 --> 00:01:12.449 I want them to understand that, 28 00:01:12.449 --> 00:01:15.019 hey, even if I have something that is perceived as 29 00:01:15.019 --> 00:01:17.639 an almost impossible challenge, 30 00:01:17.639 --> 00:01:20.862 now I feel inspired to say, "Well, hey, if that guy can 31 00:01:20.862 --> 00:01:23.522 do it, then I most certainly can do it." 32 00:01:23.522 --> 00:01:26.670 That's something that I want everyone to feel. 33 00:01:26.670 --> 00:01:27.971 Whether they've been around me 34 00:01:27.971 --> 00:01:30.513 for five minutes or for five hours. 35 00:01:30.513 --> 00:01:33.002 For me, preparing for a talk always begins 36 00:01:33.002 --> 00:01:36.478 with pretty much writing like an essay. 37 00:01:36.478 --> 00:01:39.920 line:15% 'Cause I wrote a ton of papers in graduate school and 38 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:42.568 line:15% I think of it very much so the same way. 39 00:01:42.568 --> 00:01:44.688 line:15% I've got an opening statement, I'm gonna tell you, 40 00:01:44.688 --> 00:01:46.760 line:15% "Hey, here's what I'm gonna talk to you about today." 41 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.739 Kind of give that thesis and then break it down bullet-point 42 00:01:49.739 --> 00:01:52.499 by bullet-point by bullet-point and then wrap it up. 43 00:01:52.499 --> 00:01:54.768 Not only wrapping it up with, "Hey, this is what I hope you 44 00:01:54.768 --> 00:01:56.568 got out of today's presentation," 45 00:01:56.568 --> 00:01:58.995 but also, here's a call to action. 46 00:01:58.995 --> 00:02:01.697 Then, the second part, which is probably the most 47 00:02:01.697 --> 00:02:04.688 important to me is creating the visuals 48 00:02:04.688 --> 00:02:06.539 that are associated with the talk. 49 00:02:06.539 --> 00:02:10.019 Because I always really like to have some kind of visual 50 00:02:10.019 --> 00:02:13.819 line:15% whether it's a PowerPoint or a keynote slide or an image. 51 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:15.310 line:15% Almost never with words. 52 00:02:15.310 --> 00:02:18.230 line:15% I don't do a lot of words, but a lot of pictures or videos 53 00:02:18.230 --> 00:02:21.079 line:15% that complement what I'm actually saying. 54 00:02:21.079 --> 00:02:23.550 line:15% Because that I way I think it helps people process better 55 00:02:23.550 --> 00:02:26.280 and it also helps them commit it to memory. 56 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:27.113 Then I practice it. 57 00:02:27.113 --> 00:02:29.484 Just like you're preparing for a 58 00:02:29.484 --> 00:02:32.110 presentation at work or a class project. 59 00:02:32.110 --> 00:02:34.190 You run through it, make sure it makes sense, 60 00:02:34.190 --> 00:02:36.280 make sure that it has a good flow. 61 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:40.947 Usually from there I'm pretty confident and ready to go.