The smile on my face while walking out of yesterday’s Weight Watchers meeting was a drastic change from the near tears I was in when I walked out of the first one I led last week!
IT WENT SO MUCH BETTER!!!
There were a lot of reasons why yesterday’s meeting was more successful than my first attempt.
To start, the topic of the week was something I was a lot more comfortable with – the flexibility of the PointsPlus program and how it’s easy to mold the program to fit your lifestyle. I really live and breathe Weight Watchers and do believe it’s a super flexible program that can fit into almost anyone’s lifestyle, so it felt a lot more natural for me to be presenting it.
On top of that, I had a really good opening and theme idea that I found online (there are TONS of resources for Weight Watcher Leaders for meeting ideas!) so I just felt really familiar and confident with the topic.
Outside of that, I was in a familiar space (the one where I attended meetings as a member and also am a receptionist for a meeting each week), which helped me a lot in feeling comfortable and moving around the room. Despite the fact that I had to arrive at 7am, I also was a lot more upbeat and enthusiastic; aka much more like myself than the awkward person I was last Monday during lunchtime.
The big things that I changed from last week were:
- I incorporated movement and tried to walk around the room so I was spreading my attention around and appearing more confident.
- I wore a watch so that I knew roughly how long had passed, which helped me to be less nervous about filling the time.
- I had a ton of great questions in store for when silences came up.
- I delved deeper into members responses by asking follow up questions rather than changing the subject.
- I asked follow-up questions to the group at large so that members started talking to and relating to each other.
- I was more confident and upbeat like my normal self, rather than reserved and quiet.
- I made a few jokes and laughed with the group, which made everyone more comfortable.
- I mostly avoided awkward topic transitions.
Don’t get me wrong – it was only my second time leading a meeting, so I still have a lot of room for improvement – but I felt like I did a really good job incorporating feedback from last week’s meeting into this one, and I also got additional feedback from yesterday’s meeting that I can incorporate into my meetings going forward.
I think the biggest difference between walking away from last week’s meeting compared to this week’s meeting is that I now feel confident that I will be a great leader one day. I am so excited to have the opportunity to pay forward everything that Weight Watchers has given me because it really has changed my life completely. And of course selfishly, I am also excited to continue to be involved with the program as it grows and evolves so that I hold myself accountable and continue to keep healthy living and weight loss top priorities in my life.
PS: Two blog readers were actually at the meeting!!!! Sooooo surreal. Hi guys!! =)
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Hooray!! I can literally feel the positive energy coming from your post and got a big grin when I read it! We all knew you could do it- you just had to get that first one out of the way and under your belt. You are doing such a great thing- and you never know who you will touch and inspire.
And maybe- you are really a morning person and were on your best game at 7 am (that’s certainly true for me!).
Oh, and I’m very interested to learn about the new changes coming to WW…
Way to go, Beth!!
Congrats on having a great meeting! It just takes a few to shake out all the “awkward”. I am positive you are going to be a great leader- and you’re going to be a great role model for those who are in your audience!
YAY! THis is great news, Beth! So glad you had a better time
Keep it up!! I know you’re going to be a great and confident leader in no time!
I’m so glad that things went better the second time around! It must feel fantastic!
I’ve actually been toying around with the idea of applying to be a receptionist…how does that whole process work/what’s it like considering you’ve been there as well?
yay! so glad it went well. i knew it would!!
You were FANTASTIC yesterday!! You seemed really upbeat and confident and not nervous at all. Thanks for leading our meeting — I hope you’ll come visit us again!
Aww thank you Kelly!! And congratulations to you on your big milestone yesterday!!!!
Thanks! It was a good day
SOOO awesome!! Glad you feel good about this last meeting.
Yayy! Great job, Beth!
I think that is the most important thing. That you recognize you will make an awesome leader. I bet you already are one and people appreciate you a lot. Sounds like you made some great progress just between two meetings. Imagine the 3rd, 5th, 100th…
I’m glad it went better for you! I met with my Leader Coach last week to do a Power Start session and was soooo nervous! She said I did good though, so that helps. I go to BLS on Friday. Hopefully that helps me to get even better.
And you’ll just keep getting better!
Congrats! Awesome! Love this post!
You did great yesterday! Not awkward at all. I also really enjoy your blog. It is great motivation. Thanks!!
Yay Beth! I hope they continue to be great
Yayy Beth! If you anything like you are on y our blog, i’m sure it was amazing! I wish I could go to one of your meetings!
Congrats on the sucessful meeting! Just from reading your blog, I know that you are fantastic leader and will grow more and more comfortable leading people to healthy!
Great job Beth! Glad you are feeling much better about everything!
YAY BETH! You are a meeting leader rockstar! And the meetings will only get better with time! GO YOU! I’ll also have to send a friend, who lives in DC, your way soon!
Beth:
I just put two and two together and realized you were my meeting leader–I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and love it! You did a fantastic job and really got me energized about moving from online-only to meetings. Even in that short time, you inspired me. I was telling someone that I’m sad I can’t stick around town longer because I enjoyed that meeting so much!
THANK YOU! See you next week!
Carrie (the new girl)
Carrie – How funny!!! We did the Getting Started Session together at the end. Small world it is!
Beth this is great! As you do it more and more you will continue to feel more comfortable and at ease. I just want to remind you that you already are a great leader! You are a great role model on how to live and breathe Weight Watchers. Keep up with the success!
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad it got better for you the second time around! After reading your posts on the training, I have some more questions.
* Signing up for leadership training is making me a bit nervous. When does WW decide you are hired in the process for Leadership? Do you also have to pass a test?
* How much time do you spend during the week for training process and once you officially start your own meetings?
* I’m originally from Chicago. What specific part of Chicago did you have the training? Did you stay close to the training site? My friend told me they would send me to either Dallas or Chicago so I was curious since I have family there.
* Does the receptionist receive the same perks as the leader, e.g., 50% off products, pay?
* What was the most difficult or challenging part of the whole training?
* What was the most beneficial part of the training?
Thanks for all of your posts. They have been very informative, inspirational and encouraging! Keep up the good work!!
Sorry! One more question. If someone is debating whether to start off as a receptionist or a leader, what would you say are some of the biggest things to consider if contemplating between the two? My main concern is the time commitment. My hubby has agreed to support me in my new endeavor, but is also concerned about me getting totally engulfed in WW’s (which I can easily do since I love, love, love to research – did I forget to mention, LOVE TO RESEARCH?).
Thanks again!!!
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