You Have Two Days Left...

...to come up with a presentation proposal for the American Music Therapy Association's National Conference.

I have a music therapy friend who is relatively new to the profession (for me, that means anyone who hasn't had to recertify through the Certification Board for Music Therapy yet - just so you can have a reference point) who has caught the presentation bug. At first, this person felt the way I felt as a relative newbie - "Why would ANYONE want to hear what I have to say?" It took lots of persuading, but this person took the chance and sent in a presentation proposal for the regional conference that was not only accepted, but well-attended as well.

When I was a newbie, I felt the same way about presenting for music therapists. "How could I think that I had anything to contribute to the lives of other therapists with more practice experience?" A friend of mine asked me to co-present and the experience was a good thing. Lots of people came to listen to two new music therapists talk about working with persons with multiple challenges. After that, I realized that each and every one of us has a story to share and lessons to teach others.

So, how do you come up with ideas for presentation proposals? Here's what I do.

At the end of every conference, I write down a list of ideas for proposals and a list of things that I want to know more about. When proposal time gets closer, I look over that list and decide what I want to pursue. I also think about what I can tell others. There are things that I know because I work where I work and how my clients interact with the world, and those things make my story something to share with others.

You have important things to share. You have a unique story in this world of music therapy, and there is something that you can say that someone else needs to hear. Take a leap into sharing that story with others and submit a proposal!

Here's the link to the proposal form. Use it. I want to hear what you have to say!