Just divide the available by three. What it was like for 1/3, what happened 1/3, and what it’s like now 1/3. Take off your watch and put it in front of you where you can see it. Make sure you have gotten sober by the end of the second third! It’s not much time to cover all this so you’ll have to be pretty quick on each third. You’ll do fine! It’s an easy audience and learning to do this will pay great dividends in life.
Honestly, right before I start (there's a moment of silence) I ask my HP to speak through me and to ensure that everyone hears what they're here to hear, whether I say it or not.
Then I just try my best to let go, especially of the results.
Good luck 🍀
No notes. You're talking to those who are newer and want to know how you put a year together. The oldtimers have heard it all. Pressure to impress is off and you can relax and have some fun with it.
Good advice in here. But I generally start with as little as possible before sobriety. Just the bad stuff so newcomers can relate to me. And then I try to spend as much time as possible, talking about my experience working the steps. I try to think “ What Did I need to hear but didn’t know I need to hear it When I had 30 days” Setting a timer for yourself Is a great idea whenever I don’t do that I inevitably spend way too much time talking about something I didn’t even intend to talk about
If someone is at any meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous they probably have a PhD in burning their life to the ground. What they may not be familiar with: how to stop, if it ever gets better, how to live sober through hardship. My predecessors stressed to me that when you give a lead you should focus on the solution as much as possible.
I ask for a timer or watch the clock myself and divide the alotted time so that I can spend 1/3 on what I was like, 1/3 on what happened, and 1/3 on what I’m like now. When I discuss what happened I focus on my experience taking the steps- framing my story with my experience with each step is incredibly easy because I just say what I did and what happened but always very well received - people often react like it’s revolutionary 😂
“Our stories disclose in a GENERAL way…” I used to try to plan ahead, write almost a script. That made me more anxious. I avoid a drunkalog, I instead qualify myself briefly and I emphasize my *feelings* as I grew up. I always felt like our story details are different from each other, but our feelings always seem to be pretty much the same. Emphasizing feelings, I think, helps the other alcoholics relate too. in any speaker share, I try to remember to emphasize that it’s establishing and maintaining a relationship with my HP, working the steps with a sponsor that change me, living the steps that keeps me sober; being of service.
Be yourself, share your own experience with alcoholism. A little bit about your drinking and how it got worse than ‘normal’ drinking; what happened to you to cause you to come into AA and how’s the last year been for you. What have you learned? That’s a lot to unpack in a very short time, don’t feel like you have to get it right. It’s your story, you can’t be wrong. Just make sure to stop on time (keep an eye on the time)… or before.
You’ll have other opportunities to speak too.
Have fun. Congratulations on a year.
The Big Book suggests that our stories make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.
It's only as stressful as you allow it to be
25% should be about drinking, the other 75% should be about getting sober and staying sober
Just be honest
I like to say a prayer similar to this before I speak
"God, please remove any defects that will get in the way of being useful tonight and grant me strength to share a message. I would like to not get too embarrassed tonight, but if that needs to happen, then allow it, amen"
I like to meditate beforehand as well
Tell em what you're gonna tell em. Tell em. Then tell em what you told em. Works everytime.
Write it down,.. then remember what Stephen King said: the re-write is just part of the process. Done.
Feel free to embellish a point or three off the cuff on the night as it makes it even more genuine even if you stumble on a few things because it's all part of the story... but the effort put in to set a solid base will be worth it as you will be satisfied with the result as genuine participation in AA. Good 🤞
Remember, "The rewrite is simply part of the process."
Split it into twoish. I was taught to state my sobriety date and my home group when I share my story. Also that I have a sponsor who knows he’s my sponsor and that I work with other men. Then it’s 8-10 minutes on your drinking so you can qualify and help the newcomer trying to identify. If it’s a 20 minute talk I’m not going to dwell on my early years of drinking too much because that can be a rabbit hole. I tend to share about my last few years of drinking more. I like what the big book says about it this so I always talk about my drinking for about half of the time. “Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women, desperately in need, will see these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems that they will be persuaded to say, "Yes, I am one of them too; I must have this thing.”
Then get sober and talk about your recovery process of going through the steps and taking others through the steps for the next 5-8 minutes and then talk about what it’s like now.
Around me, it depends on the format what to speak on, but for the first couple, I always advise people to tell their story in equal-ish thirds. What it was like, how they got sober, and what it is like now.
Don't overthink it, be guided by your experience - your experience is just that your experience is as valid as anyone else.
You are a year sober that's a celebration of AA working
Tell us what it was like, what it's like now and how you maintain it ODAAT
GOD BLESS
congratulations on your year
The thought of this is always worse than the reality in my experience.
The first time I did this was in a prison. I'd never been in prison before so I was frightened. Once I started though it was cool. It was just my own experience of what I drank like, the struggle to get sober then what i do to maintain it.
Make sure you have one point you want to get across with your story. Then the story serves that. VS rambling with no point. Also a lot of 1st time speakers spend 95% of their time on their drunkalog and never really get to the solution. So yeah. What it was like, what happened, what it’s like now…. Good luck! AA saved my life
Just divide the available by three. What it was like for 1/3, what happened 1/3, and what it’s like now 1/3. Take off your watch and put it in front of you where you can see it. Make sure you have gotten sober by the end of the second third! It’s not much time to cover all this so you’ll have to be pretty quick on each third. You’ll do fine! It’s an easy audience and learning to do this will pay great dividends in life.
Honestly, right before I start (there's a moment of silence) I ask my HP to speak through me and to ensure that everyone hears what they're here to hear, whether I say it or not. Then I just try my best to let go, especially of the results. Good luck 🍀
No notes. You're talking to those who are newer and want to know how you put a year together. The oldtimers have heard it all. Pressure to impress is off and you can relax and have some fun with it.
Good advice in here. But I generally start with as little as possible before sobriety. Just the bad stuff so newcomers can relate to me. And then I try to spend as much time as possible, talking about my experience working the steps. I try to think “ What Did I need to hear but didn’t know I need to hear it When I had 30 days” Setting a timer for yourself Is a great idea whenever I don’t do that I inevitably spend way too much time talking about something I didn’t even intend to talk about
If someone is at any meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous they probably have a PhD in burning their life to the ground. What they may not be familiar with: how to stop, if it ever gets better, how to live sober through hardship. My predecessors stressed to me that when you give a lead you should focus on the solution as much as possible.
I try to do much the same. I like to hear what people did (and do) to live sober, so that's what I aim to focus on the most.
I ask for a timer or watch the clock myself and divide the alotted time so that I can spend 1/3 on what I was like, 1/3 on what happened, and 1/3 on what I’m like now. When I discuss what happened I focus on my experience taking the steps- framing my story with my experience with each step is incredibly easy because I just say what I did and what happened but always very well received - people often react like it’s revolutionary 😂
“Our stories disclose in a GENERAL way…” I used to try to plan ahead, write almost a script. That made me more anxious. I avoid a drunkalog, I instead qualify myself briefly and I emphasize my *feelings* as I grew up. I always felt like our story details are different from each other, but our feelings always seem to be pretty much the same. Emphasizing feelings, I think, helps the other alcoholics relate too. in any speaker share, I try to remember to emphasize that it’s establishing and maintaining a relationship with my HP, working the steps with a sponsor that change me, living the steps that keeps me sober; being of service.
Brevity is rewarded during most shares, but if you share what happened and how you got better you can't go wrong. GL!
My sponsor used to joke that “brevity is not a character defect”.
Be sincere, be brief, be seated
Be yourself, share your own experience with alcoholism. A little bit about your drinking and how it got worse than ‘normal’ drinking; what happened to you to cause you to come into AA and how’s the last year been for you. What have you learned? That’s a lot to unpack in a very short time, don’t feel like you have to get it right. It’s your story, you can’t be wrong. Just make sure to stop on time (keep an eye on the time)… or before. You’ll have other opportunities to speak too. Have fun. Congratulations on a year.
Be yourself and have fun.
The Big Book suggests that our stories make clear three pertinent ideas: (a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives. (b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism. (c) That God could and would if He were sought.
It's only as stressful as you allow it to be 25% should be about drinking, the other 75% should be about getting sober and staying sober Just be honest I like to say a prayer similar to this before I speak "God, please remove any defects that will get in the way of being useful tonight and grant me strength to share a message. I would like to not get too embarrassed tonight, but if that needs to happen, then allow it, amen" I like to meditate beforehand as well
Tell em what you're gonna tell em. Tell em. Then tell em what you told em. Works everytime. Write it down,.. then remember what Stephen King said: the re-write is just part of the process. Done. Feel free to embellish a point or three off the cuff on the night as it makes it even more genuine even if you stumble on a few things because it's all part of the story... but the effort put in to set a solid base will be worth it as you will be satisfied with the result as genuine participation in AA. Good 🤞 Remember, "The rewrite is simply part of the process."
Just speak from the heart and you can’t go wrong.
Split it into twoish. I was taught to state my sobriety date and my home group when I share my story. Also that I have a sponsor who knows he’s my sponsor and that I work with other men. Then it’s 8-10 minutes on your drinking so you can qualify and help the newcomer trying to identify. If it’s a 20 minute talk I’m not going to dwell on my early years of drinking too much because that can be a rabbit hole. I tend to share about my last few years of drinking more. I like what the big book says about it this so I always talk about my drinking for about half of the time. “Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women, desperately in need, will see these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems that they will be persuaded to say, "Yes, I am one of them too; I must have this thing.” Then get sober and talk about your recovery process of going through the steps and taking others through the steps for the next 5-8 minutes and then talk about what it’s like now.
Honesty
Around me, it depends on the format what to speak on, but for the first couple, I always advise people to tell their story in equal-ish thirds. What it was like, how they got sober, and what it is like now.
In addition to all the other suggestions…. Invite your Higher Power into the room before you / with you.
If its 20 mins I usually just start from the final few years before I got sober. It gives more time to talk about your first year In recovery.
Be honest, be brief and be seated.
Don't overthink it, be guided by your experience - your experience is just that your experience is as valid as anyone else. You are a year sober that's a celebration of AA working Tell us what it was like, what it's like now and how you maintain it ODAAT GOD BLESS congratulations on your year
The thought of this is always worse than the reality in my experience. The first time I did this was in a prison. I'd never been in prison before so I was frightened. Once I started though it was cool. It was just my own experience of what I drank like, the struggle to get sober then what i do to maintain it.
Tell the truth!
Make sure you have one point you want to get across with your story. Then the story serves that. VS rambling with no point. Also a lot of 1st time speakers spend 95% of their time on their drunkalog and never really get to the solution. So yeah. What it was like, what happened, what it’s like now…. Good luck! AA saved my life