Sgt. Erica Smith, Us Army Ret.

Im very transparent and laid back. No suits, no formality, and no change in me.

What does this mean? This means that if you met me on the street, thats the same person and personality youd get on stage. I always got frustrated when people put on a persona when speaking, because how can I expect you to trust what Im saying if Im not being genuine?

I have a background in medicine and counseling as well as Philosophy. I like to incorporate all of these into my speeches. I try to connect with the audience, empathize with their needs, meet them where their at, and then try to teach and model what Im saying through interactive discussions, sharing personal stories, and small exercises that involve communication and self reflection.

If I want someone to try to improve their life, I first need to get their trust, then find their motivation, help them understand their own wants and needs, then get them invested, and THEN we can start discussing how to take the next steps.

I always hated being told as a kid, because I said so. Thats dumb. We as people want to know WHY. WHY is this beneficial info? WHY am I challenging myself? If people understand the why, then they can trust the process. The problem is how we explain the why. Experts talk at a high level that feels like you need a degree just to understand it. Charismatic people's explainations are not nessisarily based in factual data, but get their point accross by not actually explaining it but hitting the key phrases that get you emotionally activated, often through fear, anxiety, or a want to belong. Think podcast and tv Personalities. Many dont nessisarily believe what they say, they just know that they get more engagement by how they say it.

Okay so what about me? Well, I take in the science, the data, the research, and then i translate that into relationships that most people can comprehend. Ill usually learn about my audience first, and then use their knowledge base as a stepping stone to create correlations that are factually correct but not dumbed down or misrepresented.

Finally, Im open and honest. If i dont know something, I say that. If Im unsure, I say that. Having autism and synestesia made me have to verbalize my thoughts out loud, which for some reason helps other people relate to me because I speak like their inner monolog. I also mirror, its a symptom of autism where we tend to be unsure of social dynamics so we adopt a clone of someone or a group of people and become what they want or relate too. Through therapy and my own academic education I was able to use this as a skill to help people by becoming not what they want, but what they need in a mentorship sense. If a person needs someone who will hold their hand and walk them through something I can identify that and become that person so they get help on their terms. Or if someone needs a brutally honest person I pick up on that and provide that. In ethics, its not about the action, but instead the intent and result of that action.

No one enjoys being lectured at or talked down too. But the enjoyment of only being validated only lasts so long before people realize they still dont know how to grow. What if we used both? The knowledge of an expert with the connection of a charismatic person? Add some personal flair and a genuine want to help people and thats basically what you get from me.

Disclaimer; all my speeches are customized to the venue and audience. I cant say exactly what i will offer until I get specific details. I do this because you deserve a customized experience, not a cookie cutter show.

Well, Im different.

No no, not like that disney channel movie trope of "Im born special and Im just so perfect and Im the one person to salve the worlds problems". More like, why the heck is everyone telling me I different? Well, while I would love to think that they are just being nice and supportive, the reality is that I AM different; and yet, thats precisely why people feel like they can relate to me.

Hear me out....

While I could list the objective information on how Im different or what makes me suited for your event, I think its more impactful to be subjective with you the reader. Why? Because being subjective, or talking from my own perspective, invites you in. It makes us connect. Why do you think people have favorite fiction books but no one ever says "that non fiction biography changed my life and Im gonna go cosplay the protagonist now". Well...sometimes they do...but anyway...

Im 32 years old. I dont feel it, I feel like im 23 or 24. And weirdly, people generally guess thats my age. Ive done ALOT in my life, and I only say that because Im starting to realize that compared to others I have. By alot, I dont mean Im a rich successful person. Ha ha no.....Ive done alot and ive failed at alot and as such I learned alot. Plus, anxiety helps too.

You ever feel like you need that adrenaline rush of pressure or anxiety to do something? Procrastinate that paper until the panic of missing the deadline helps you bang out a great thesis in a night? Well that was basically my way of functioning up until recently. I was raised in a family that didn't really believe in mental health and they dealt with their own struggles by not addressing any issues but instead writing it off as a fluke or something.

So when everyone said to my parents, this child has adhd and autism symptoms....they wrote it off as I was just different. I mean, I was born 16 weeks premature and suffered from seizures until I was like 2 so maybe my parents just assumed id be fine. But growing up not understanding why it feels like youre missing something everyone else has is rough. Why couldnt I memorize but I could quickly learn new tasks and also understand pattern systems to the point of low key cheating on tests; I figured out the pattern in the test based on the teacher and could infer what they wanted. I gave a book report once on les miserabe in 5th grade and got perfect marks when I never read the book...I just read the back cover and figured out what likely was gonna happen. The internet was accessible in the early 90s so I couldn't rely on that. Am I proud of these moments? no, but I was just trying to survive like everyone else, except I felt like I was missing a tool everyone else had.

So i did okay in high school, i assumed I was a B student and just average. Hell, average was okay by me. I hated getting 100s on tests and then being the center of attention. Why? how could I explain to everyone asking how to help them study when I never studied? I just, knew the info i guess. So i purposely failed a test here or there to blend in.

to be continued...

None really. I ask for water and or soda to drink. Maybe a snack? Sometimes Ill ask for paper and pens to be available for some exercises for people.

if im traveling far, then I usually negotiate travel expenses and a place to stay and meals but thats a case bybcase basis.

If its a technical lecture, like teaching a group about truama medicine, ill bring my own supplies, props, and gear.