clpna provincial conference

I was thrilled to speak about the Art of Storytelling for the CLPNA’s annual provincial conference yesterday.   I attended both days of the conference, and was struck why CLPNA are one of my favourite writing clients:

The staff at CLPNA love the nurses they represent.

Working for an organization, even as a freelancer, that demonstrates over and over that they value the important work that they do, and nurses they serve, is extremely gratifying.

And the nurses themselves?  A group of passionate, empathetic, warm and lovely folks.  It was an honour to spend the past two days in their company.

bird wordle

Brene Brown was in town!

In a series of events I’d term happy happenstance, I found out that Dr. Brene Brown was coming to speak in Edmonton.

I have been following Brene Brown’s blog and Twitter feed for some time now.  The adolescent girl in me will confess that I am a HUGE FAN.   Brene is lovely, she’s cool, she’s my age, she’s living life in Houston as a writer, speaker and researcher.  I’ve seen her speak at TedTalks, and own a dog-eared copy of her book, The Gifts of Imperfection.

Even though I am not a social worker, the kind folks at the Alberta College of Social Workers connected me up with a fellow who couldn’t use his ticket, so I snagged a deal to see Brene Brown speak at their provincial conference on Friday March 23 at the Convention Centre.  I met up with a social work friend in the conference hotel for breakfast, and even saw Brene Brown eat her breakfast at a table behind me.  I was so paralyzed with excitement to see her in person that I only could give her a small smile and wave.   (I am such a dork.  But a polite Canadian dork).

She opened the conference as the plenary speaker, and then gave a three hour workshop.  I sat wide-eyed through both sessions, and have taken a few days to process what she said about vulnerability, shame and love.  It was extremely powerful for me to see her speak.

I listened hard and scribbled down statements that spoke to me.  Her presentation style is warm and engaging, and she opened her remarks with humour about the ‘sideways’ snowstorm that greeted her arrival in Edmonton.   Her PowerPoint slides were just my style – all photos and quotes, and she began with a powerful one:

What is to give light must endure the burning ~ Frankel

So many snippets are floating through my head, but you must see Dr. Brown speak yourself to get the full context for her words.  A few morsels:

We must have love and belonging, or there’s suffering.
You cannot give what you do not have.
I am enough.
There’s a difference between merely professing love and practicing love.

I was especially taken with her wisdom about storytelling, as I’m working on an hour long storytelling presentation for a conference in May.  She explained our worthiness lives inside the story of who we are, and that we must own our own stories and love ourselves through the process.  And, courage is telling our stories with our whole hearts.

I was moved and inspired by the whole experience.  I’m especially proud of myself for having the guts to phone the ACSW office, and ask (beg) for tickets to the event.  Thank you to Lin Hermanson for the heads up, Lori Sigurdson for extending out kindness to me, and to Brene Brown for braving the sideways snow in Edmonton to share your wisdom and yourself with your friends in Canada.

Check out the real Brene Brown here:
http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame.html

prep, prep, prep

I’m thrilled that I have four speaking engagements in the next four months.  I’m knee-deep in prep for them.  I’m a big believer in the power of preparation, buying into Seth Godin’s concept of reputation:  when you get asked a question, you give an answer bigger than ever hoped for.  My aim is to inspire and motivate my audiences, while providing them with practical actions to affect change…

Creating a PowerPoint is akin to crafting a story.  There’s the beginning, where you must quickly connect with your audience, the middle, where you sustain the engagement, and then the end, where you deliver key take-away messages.  There’s a lot involved with the prep and delivery of a speech.

My key learnings over the years:  Remember to breathe.  Anxiety is a glimpse of your own daring. (Attributed to Maria Shriver).  And never ever read bullets off a PowerPoint.  Presentation Zen helps with this.

I look forward to:
Gateway Association for Community Living AGM – The Art of Storytelling for Families – March
CLPNA’s Provincial Conference – The Art of Storytelling (for staff!) – May
Strengthening the Bond Conference – Panel – Improving Quality:  how to strengthen patient centred care and improve access.
Institute for Patient and Family Centered Care International Conference – Building Buy-In for the Value of Peer Support (Co-presenting with Gayle Parks Krupa) – June, Washington DC.

happy 2012…

here's to celebrating the birth of every baby...

 

It’s about the people: nursing in the inner city

I am extremely proud to have my name on the byline on the feature article in CLPNA’s Care Magazine.  Click here for the online edition.

It was an honour to spend two days shadowing Ashley Schwanke, the nurse featured in the piece.  She works at Streetworks, which is a needle exchange program at Boyle Street Community Services in Edmonton’s inner city.

Ashley and Dallas even snagged the cover shot – congratulations!

I love doing freelance writing and photography for this reason:  I always am humbled by the health professionals I meet who are doing extraordinary work – both caring for others and trying to make change in the world.  My hope with this article?  People will read it and realize that people are people first…no matter if they live with addictions or in the inner city…and all people are worthy of respect and dignity.

meaningful engagement article in Health Issues

me petting marly, the kangaroo

I’m thrilled I have had an article published based on my Consumers Reforming Health Conference presentation in Melbourne last July.

The article, called ‘Meaningful Engagement or Tokenism’ was published in the Journal of the Health Issues Centre.

Click on the link here! Sue Robins article-HIJ 107