Starting the Stress Cycle of Conference Time

I have four conference presentations to prepare for the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) national conference next month. Two of them are almost finished, but two of them (the ones that I'm doing on my own) are not even started.

I do have the descriptions of what I want to talk about and the learner objectives already planned, but now I have to take what I wrote in my proposal and actually make it work as a reality.

Don't get me wrong. I love this process, but I usually have things a bit more planned by now. That's the part that is stressing me out today. So, I am going to take some time to organize and arrange my thoughts on my two topics and get things started.

I just went over to my LinkedIn account and found a video from YouTube explaining how to plan your presentations. What serendipity! Now I am going to watch this short blurb and then start to arrange my thoughts.

My process is simple - I outline. I outline, I rearrange, and I polish. Right now I have to start with the outline, and I will do so. Once I finish, I will be able to refine my ideas and get things into my presentations. Then, I will spend many of my commuting hours from now until conference, practicing my talk. It will come together, and I will feel confident once it is time to talk to others about my topics.

Right now, though, I am in the thought and formulation stage, so things aren't where I can start to practice. Time to go to work! See you tomorrow.
  

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