I first started presenting courses in 2005 after much pressure to do so from friends and clients. I had successfully resisted for over a decade until I finally relented and took a leap of faith.
For my very first presentation and public speaking engagement I was hoping at least one person but not more than five people attended. Any more than that would have been too intimidating and overwhelming for my fragile sense of self. It is funny looking back that I thought I could probably manage five participants. The topics were, Clairvoyance, Life After Death and Moving Through Loss and Grief.
My grandmother insisted that I didn’t prepare anything at all, no notes and no course outline until entering the room. I thought that would be a little too late but she said it had to be free flowing, dynamic, spontaneous and entirely relevant to all the participants in the room. This would only be possible when they were all present. She told me the very first sentence I would utter in a public presentation a few seconds before being introduced to the participants.
When I peered into the room at the Relaxation Centre in Brisbane and saw over 50 people waiting for the course to begin my fear to run away or to become completely invisible was overwhelming. One of my greatest fears is public speaking and making a fool of myself. My belief that would happen on the first evening was well over 98%.
As the manager of the Relaxation centre began to introduce me he commented that when we first spoke on the telephone a few months earlier he instantly knew I was genuine and the real deal. He then spoke of the great seer Edgar Cayce and how he changed so many lives and that the participants were in for a real treat that first evening. It was at this point my mind went completely numb.
As he uttered the words “please give a big warm welcome to Steve Rieck” over 100 eyes turned onto me and I become frozen to the spot for what seemed like an eternity. In actuality it was probably only a few seconds. All I recall thinking was “run Steve run while you still have a chance”. The warm welcoming applause momentarily drowned out my internal dialog of how this was going to be an unmitigated humiliating disaster for me.
What made me stay and take to the stage I will never truly know.
After a very nervous, fearful and sweaty beginning I twisted in the chair I was sitting in. As I did the chair made an ominous squeaking noise which sounded like I had just farted. At this point and without realising it, I was looking at a lovely Sri Lankan woman in the front row when I commented, “oops, curry for dinner.” Everyone burst out laughing and so began my teaching career. If it wasn’t for that squeaking chair would I still be presenting courses now? I will never truly know and it is probably best left unknown.
When the laughter died down I began to relax as I realised people were actually listening and appeared interested in what we were sharing. At the end of the second course when I told the participants that the previous evening was my very first time speaking in public they were amazed and began spontaneously clapping for me. I was embarrassed but relieved.
One participant said she thought I had been doing this for over 20 years I seemed so polished at it. Others said it was the best presentation they had ever heard on the topics and it was different to anything they had experienced before. They remarked on my honesty, insight, genuineness and how powerful, moving and effective the sessions were.
I was ever so grateful that the courses were well received and I hadn’t humiliated myself in the process. The results spoke for themselves. I could no longer hide from this aspect of my life purpose. It meant that I had to continue to pursue public speaking in order to reach more people with the knowledge shared with me by my grandfather and grandmother.
I have now presented well over 100 courses covering more than 20 different topics since 2005. These have been attended by several thousand people. More details of the course topics can be viewed on the courses page on this website. It details what is covered in each course and what you can expect to experience if you decide to attend. I look forward to seeing you in our courses in the near future.