I just moved offices, and had to decide whether to move this: What is it? It's my "Wall of Experience" for technical speaking and demoing...layers of badges each representing one or several sessions I gave at a technical conference. For me, the decision was clear: Move it, Cherish it, Study it. Why? Because each conference helped me be a better speaker...each session honed my skills. As I pulled each badge down from the old wall and later put it up on the new wall, memories came flooding back...not only about the city/country I was in, but also in what I learned: It went something like this:

Ah, this was my first solo presentation…ever. I learned I could actually do this!

This is the one I was so nervous for because the 'critical customer' was in the crowd…I learned that honesty and deep technical knowledge beats showmanship

Here was the one that I added theatrics…first session went great, second one didn't…but in the end the attendees appreciated the effort. I learned if you care about your customer, they appreciate it even if it doesn't totally work.

This one was my first keynote…I learned that 10 run-thrus really do make the keynote go smoothly!

This is the one where I improvised on the piano…I learned that doing something unexpected keeps your audience's attention

This one I only had one person show up…but he learned a lot because I learned how to personalize a pitch just for him

…and on and on. Each badge, sticker, pin, ribbon helped shape my skills and unique techniques. I'm grateful for each one. I'm starting to think I need to create a wall of experience for other things I'm passionate about to remind me how far I've come, what I've learned, and that I can still learn something from every single experience. I also think we need to start sharing our walls of experience. If I can learn something from your experience, and you from mine, then we both become better. How about you? What is your wall of experience? What has it taught you?