Hi, I'm Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry. I wrote this poem after my first public performance following a storytelling course I had attended. I was very nervous. Not about performing but about remembering my lines. The course had ignited my confidence and I was determined to drop my shield of shyness and allow my bright personality to shine through my performance.
I performed quite well. I received an applaud. At the end of all the performances, I mingled with the other students and the audience. A mature lady came up to me and out of her mouth poured negative criticism about my performance. I stepped back thinking "Who is she?" She had not introduced herself to me before launching into her judgemental assessment of me. It was obvious she did not approve of me as well as my performance.
She disapproved of the bubbly personality that I brought to my speaking style. She deemed it 'inappropriate'. Well, that's just what I needed to hear after my first performance! I stood there stunned as she walked away. "I can't believe that just happened?" Well, it did and I learnt an empowering lesson from that experience. I was open to receiving constructive criticism from my course teachers about my speaking technique, but not against my personality, the core of who I was as a human being.
You can read my poems at Simply Story Poetry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin and at simplystorypoetry.com and my article Criticism - Enemy or Friend? that inspired this poem at simplycreate2share.com.
Thank you for listening to this poem. This encourages me.
