Everything is a gift, even if it doesn’t appear so at first.  On Saturday, I spoke for the American Bar Association – Law Student Division.  I’ve presented for this group twice, and both times to an audience of about 30-50 students.  Expecting the same, I brought my arsenal of exercises and games that are suitable for larger groups.  When I arrived, I was told that President’s Day Weekend resulted in a low turnout.

Within 5 minutes I adjusted my lesson plan, and entered New York University’s Lipton Hall; capacity 140 – attendance 7.  To begin, I addressed the elephant in the room, and explained that the smaller group was actually a gift.  We started with a simple “stretch and share” exercise, which gave us all an opportunity to use the first activity of the day to loosen up our bodies and minds and to connect with each other.  In a larger group, we would need more than the allotted time for everyone to participate and that would prohibit this type of opening exercise. 

Because of the unexpected size of the class, we learned that the participants shared a love of travel.  Two of the students were avid soccer fans.  Many came to law school to pursue a second career.  We found connections and learned about each other as people instead of introducing ourselves in the typical LinkedIn Profile formality.  It clearly lead to an appreciation and openness right off the bat, and it would not have happened but for the unexpected, and the belief that everything is a gift.

~Tommy Galan, Director of Corporate Programming at The PIT