Episodes of Living: THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE

It was 2006 at the Akuafo Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon. It was a much advertised and talked about political programme scheduled to host the likes of Kwesi Pratt Jr., Chuck Kofi Wayo and Asiedu Nketiah, for the Legon Speaks programme organised by the hall. It was a charged environment like Kwame Sefa Kayi's Kokrokoo programme (popular political talk show in Ghana on Peace FM) had been transferred to campus. I had really planned to ask a question during the event; little did I know it was going to be the worst day of my life, as a first year student!.

What happened?

During the programme, all the panelists made their submissions concerning the topic (I can't remember). It was time for questions and answers, so I took hold of the microphone, stood close to the canopy where the speakers were seated and started shooting my question. I can't really remember the question I asked but all I remember was that in the middle of my question, I started fumbling. The crowd present, as students as they were, started clapping and shouting, "away, away, away." What an embarrassment! I remember whilst this was going on, K. Wayo was urging me to speak but I kept on drowning in the jeering of the students. I felt I had made a fool out of myself. “Why didn't I just observe the proceedings? I would really be a laughing stock from then on", I thought to myself. This was the worst day of my life when I was in the first year at the University.

Frankly speaking, till today, nobody has ever made reference to that. It seemed to have gone with the wind! The next day it was as if nothing happened.

Here are few lessons I picked from this worst day of my life.

We All Have Bad Experiences
Everyone has a bad day but I never allowed this bad experience to define me. That experience lingers on somewhere in my mind but I have also not allowed it to make me freeze anytime I have the opportunity to speak in public.

We All Are Minding Our Business
Really, people don't care about the worst day of your life. Why? Because they also have worst days. We are humans and fallible. Never let what people think of your experiences determine how you behave afterwards. It is said that "when a snake bites a person, what is left behind (the poison) is more dangerous and could kill if not immediately treated". That's it! If you don't deal with your worst day soon, you will never recover.

We Must Learn And Move On
The experience of that day had an influence on who I am today. I set out that in order not to flop during public speaking, I will always ask a question or answer a question in class. I was part of some of the big classes like Archaeology, Psychology and Religions. A class could have around 800 students. This worse experience helped me to set this goal that has helped me to become a public speaker without fear of fumbling. Something good can always come out of a bad day.

Whenever you're having a bad day, remember that it could become a stepping stone to achieve something worthwhile. May you never come to the point where you cannot recover from your worst day! My favourite magazine Forbes Africa has a section called "My Worst Day". It tells real life stories of how people who experienced worse days turned it around to serve people and earn millions. Bad days are not so bad if we're able to shake off the dust, move on and make something good out of it.

Can you relate with this experience? What was your own blunder regarding public speaking? Share with me in the comment box below.