One of my new year’s resolutions was to be more comfortable speaking in front of an audience. I’ve always prided myself on being outgoing and comfortable speaking in front of people, but I know there’s always something to improve upon. In college and early in my career, I was giving presentations once a week, but for the last two years, I was barely presenting in a professional setting at all. I find public speaking to be like writing – the more you do it, the better you’ll get.

I joined Toastmasters International at the first of the year, ready to sharpen my speaking skills. My first task was to develop an “ice breaker” speech to introduce myself to the 40+ members in the club with 4-6 minutes of prepared content. I thought this is gonna be a piece of cake. Talking about me (something I know quite well) for a few minutes is not a problem.

So, I wrote the speech and practiced it in front of a mirror in my living room to get the timing down. Then, speech day had arrived. Time to deliver.

I went to the Toastmasters meeting feeling nervous and on edge. I could barely focus on the opening of the meeting. I actually whispered to the guy next to me if he had known any other first-timer to throw up or pass out during their speech. To my surprise, he said no, but that didn’t really ease my fears. I couldn’t believe how nervous I was. I’ve given tons of presentations. What’s going on with me? I guess I was a little rusty, but I couldn’t focus on my nerves. I was next.

I approached the front of the room without a thought in my mind and just started talking. I got all the way through without stopping. I couldn’t believe it. I was all done! It went so fast.

I came back to my chair and wrote down a single sentence into my notebook almost as if my hand was on a mission, “I can’t wait to do that again.”

Funny, other club members commented on how calm and comfortable I looked while speaking. I guess that was my high school drama skills coming into play. I was terrified, but quickly learned that fellow Toastmasters are there to help you. They want to see you do good and ultimately get better. They’re on your side. Keeping that in mind is very helpful.

Giving my first speech at Toastmasters, I reminded myself to remember a great piece of advice a mentor once told me:

Above all, challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have, what you can accomplish.
— Cecile M. Springer

I couldn’t be more proud than when I heard about the city of Chicago’s newest social campaign. Encouraging Chicagoans to be more “neighborly”, the city has launched a site, ChicagoShovels.org, to make the mundane task of shoveling more of a social activity.

Residents can:

• Track city snow plows during and after a storm, following little plow icons on a city map.

• Adopt a patch of sidewalk online and use “social engagement” to track progess. For example, you can tell your friends on Facebook you got this sidewalk and you’re keeping it clean.

• Sign up for Snow Corps, which lets volunteers contact the city to find out who needs help shovelling their sidewalks. Seniors and disabled people can ask for help through the emergency line 311, similar to the system Toronto has.

• Check on the weather on the site or download “winter apps,” which include maps of banned parking areas during a storm. Another app is the former “was my car towed,” which allows motorists to see where the city “relocated” their car during a storm.

As a former Chicago resident, I can say that shoveling and parking in the snow was quite the nuisance. Several of my neighbors took part in the infamous “Chicago parking dibs” by saving their shoveled out parking spots with lawn chairs to prevent others from using “their” public spot. I’m glad to local organizations like ChairFree Chicago getting support to remind Chicagoans to share the parking spot love.

I’m all about this- I think it’s a great idea. Hopefully, other major cities find creative ways to engage their residents and support “neighborliness” through social media channels.

What do you think? Would you engage in the Chicago Shovels site if you were a resident?

Image Source: Meryddian Photography

On Monday, I attended an event at Cobo Hall called Michigan Emerging designed to connect Michiganders to discuss the entrepreneurial spirit and happenings across the state. During one of the panel discussions, the concept of “a 3rd place” was brought up and I was reeled in.

What is a 3rd place? A 3rd place is where you can often be found other than your home or work. Not a new concept by any means, Wikipedia even has it’s own definition. For some (including me during particularly depressing winter months), it could be your local watering hole. For others, it could be the gym or dance studio. I would even think the mall could be considered a typical 3rd place, in which case I want to meet you and tour/borrow your closet.

Most people have this 3rd place, their safe, warm environment which they enjoy being at. My question is…how can we bring our 3rd places together no matter our industries/interests? By creating a comfortable environment, almost like an extension of the house that everyone hangs out at, we would be able to hang, work, socialize, basically coexist during the times you just don’t want to go home or need to get out of your office.

I like coffeeshops, but they can sometimes be a little too trendy with the overpriced coffeebeans and segregated seating areas of judgement. One person at a table of 4, one person on the couch, and don’t even think about sitting next to them without getting the death look meaning, “There is clearly no more space for you here, try the coffeehouse down the street.”

I’m loving the concept of co-working spaces, but let’s go beyond that. What if you’re not working on anything and just want to hang out? What if you’re pinning through Pinterest and want others’ input from around you? Is there a place to go that allows you to work in comfortable space where socializing and getting work done can coexist?

At Michigan Emerging, I met with Aaron Schaap and his project, The Factory, in Western Michigan that is trying to do just this. Schaap describes The Factory as being “like Cheers, for work: a place where everyone knows your name.”

Why haven’t there been more of these around in Metro Detroit? Would you go to a place like this?

Where’s your 3rd place?

Image credit: slideaway.ca

Photo credit: Alina Vasile

Great advice, particularly as I’m moving in less than a week and have a lot of shit to go through. Less crap, more vacations and fun stuff…sounds good to me.

Summer is officially here! OK, maybe not the summer weather in certain areas, but college students are technically out of school and returning home to their parents’ cribs. It’s the perfect opportunity for students to play X-Box, lounge by the pool or do pretty much nothing for 3 months…..OR complete an internship at a local small business in their field of study. We’re hoping most are choosing the latter. Now’s your chance to capitalize on all this fresh talent looking for experience in your area.

Here are some tips on starting an internship program at your small business:

1. Check with your state. Here in Michigan, there are state laws about paid and non-paid internship programs including how many hours students can work, how late they can work, etc. Be sure to contact your state’s department of education to view the appropriate legal guidelines.

2. Discuss with your Leaders. Have recommended salary, high-level responsibilities and an overview of what the intern will gain from the experience ready to approve with your executives. My exec team responded very well to my proposal to begin an internship program mainly because it was a creative, low-cost solution for tackling an overflowing workload.

3. Develop action items  prior to posting. Where are the areas you need help? What will the intern be responsible for? Make these decision prior to interviewing so your candidates can decide if the experience is the right fit for their goals.

4. Understand college credit. It’s a common misconception that internships are always in exchange for college or university credit. Yes, an internship is a learning experience, but whether or not educational credit is obtained is strictly between the student and their school’s internship program.

5. Recruit through local universities. Often times, colleges and universities will have  departments set up specifically for managing internships, which includes placing the right student in the right position. Ask for their help!

6. Review expectations on the first day. Go over clear expectations of what you will expect from the intern on or before Day 1. How will the intern be graded/evaluated? In my opinion, your intern deserves to know before they begin the job.

7. Make it worth their while. Sure, the extra body in your office is a big help, but this internship is ultimately for the student to gain valuable experience. Have conversation with interns about their interests, career goals and future plans and tailor their job duties accordingly if possible.

8. Internships are not just for summer. Summer internships are popular for obvious reasons, but flexible-scheduled and part-time internships can happen throughout the year. The internship program that I started at my company began in the fall during our busy season, which was a huge help to our marketing department.

Working with interns are a great way to get fresh ideas into your discussions. I highly recommend bringing them on within your departments as needed.

What did I miss? What other tips do you have about starting an internship program? Any other questions for me?

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Today, I had the pleasure of attending Future Midwest at Eastern Market in downtown Detroit. Thought leaders from Detroit like Josh Linkner of Detroit Venture Partners and from other parts of the country like Bobby Ghoshal of Flud in San Diego shared ideas and takeaways of how the creative thinkers of Detroit can implement change within their own companies.

Bo Fishback (cool name, huh?) of Zaarly, a startup combining the likes of Craigslist and Ebay based on the idea that everything has a price, spoke about making ideas a reality. How many times have you said to yourself, “I’d pay $__ for __”? Now that technology is here. Want that one-of-kind vintage wedding dress that just left the store? Name your price. Want to make twenty bucks vacuuming the inside of a car? Your neighbor 30 ft away may be offering. A concept that has been around for years is now technology at your fingertips. Investors have already knocked this kid’s door down.

Future Midwest and Funded by Night, offering $100,000 to a startup with a compelling pitch, are both platforms to foster creativity and inspire local talent. Being a part of the tech and creative communities of metro Detroit is just another reason that moving back to Michigan was the right move for me. Sorry, California. No hard feelings.

Thank you to everyone who made Future Midwest possible. The fellow nerds in this city never seize to amaze me.