Speaking
Fearlessly Always
Welcome to my blog!
This is the space where I share professional insights, personal stories, creative writing, and day-to-day reflections. My writing chronicles my living experiences and acts as a place where I can personally offer you professional expertise and best practice ideas.
I hope you will join my journey and stay in touch!
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SUSIE 수지
Once again, I had the privilege of being at one of the most meaningful tables I think I have ever been invited to sit at. As we closed out the […]
Real storysharing starts at consent. We don’t always think about the decisions that happen along the storysharing journey, because let’s face it, most of us don’t see it as a […]
After my father’s horrible and abrupt death, writing became something necessary. I remember a friend of his, who would later become my first real mentor, telling my grandparents that I needed to see a therapist. As I overheard the conversation, I can’t recall now whether I understood what that really meant.
In public speaking, something always goes wrong. It’s best to set your mind to this as a fact, a static expectation, a simple truth. The more you travel and speak, the more that will not only be guaranteed to go wrong, but will also be so far out of your control. Being an excellent speaker means being a control freak with nothing to control. You carry every extra cord, hoping you don’t have to whip out your really cool “tech bag”, but also hoping just a bit you do, so you can be the MacGyver of the Mic. Debonair, tech extraordinaire.
Epistemically, our fields of mental health and suicide prevention were built for and by academics, researchers, and clinicians. They had no choice but to pursue formal education in order to create best practices. But, I wonder if, over time, and especially now, as lived experience leadership truly begins to blossom, if those degrees aren’t being weaponized against us? I wonder if our credibility judgments don’t still steer toward formal education and away from experiences we don’t know how to quantify or “letter”.
A new creative writing piece turned spoken word video.
The field has spent years focusing on how stories are used, not nearly enough time on what happens to the people doing the sharing. Pressure to share isn’t accidental. It’s […]
This is a companion piece to the “INVITING LIVED EXPERIENCE SPEAKERS TO YOUR EVENT OR GATHERING” decision tree I’ve shared previously. This tool can help you as you determine how […]
A lot of organizations begin considering preparations for event planning this time of year. Conference planners and community organizers often think about speakers with lived experience who could elevate their […]
Most people don’t ask because it feels too heavy, too frightening. The sad truth is, we know that silence doesn’t help anyone. We need to change how we talk about […]
Standing on stage is an experience. For several years, when I was invited to speak at larger events, I loathed the stage. Standing above everyone, the center of attention. (I […]
I have been involved in suicide prevention for over a decade. As I sit here, this suicide prevention month, I find myself wishing I could remember more about the early […]