Hi everyone,

What a year 2017 has been, surely one that we’ll all look back on with a sigh of relief that we can close another chapter of craziness, but I feel this sigh will be glazed with a sense of bewilderment at the pace of changed we’ve witnessed these past 365 days.

I am not tall. This is a fact I’ve known for more than just 2017. When I moved into secondary school, I used to look on in unadulterated jealousy at the boys who seem to fast-track through puberty and went from my eye-level one day to my eyes meeting their chins the next. At the time, I dreamed of my peers one day meeting my chin level – sadly an unaccomplished dream – but now looking back, while those kids were dealing with their new elevated position in life, they were simultaneously long-limbed and all out-of-proportion, as they had to adjust to their new bodies and persona.

What I’m basically saying, in my usual roundabout way (why use 2 words when 50 will do), is that that this period is a metaphor for how I perceive 2017 – it is the year that we experienced puberty. The rate of change grew at dizzying speeds, and it means our society hasn’t quite worked out how we can sit comfortably in this new body of ours. Whether we are talking about ‘big big stuff’ such as Brexit, Trump, technology or cryptocurrency amongst others, or less pressing, but equally, worrying issues, such ‘Does Alexa really know more about me than me?’ or ‘Will Cycle Karaoke really take off as the next fitness trend?’, we as individuals as well as society are learning and experiences new things daily, if not hourly.

"I am looking forward to 2018, to embracing the challenges and excitement that it brings for both me personally and the Speakers Corner team"

We are bombarded with information, and ‘information overload’ is now accepted as a symptom that we need to find coping mechanisms for in order to function with some semblance of normality. This excess has accentuated the rise of fake news, in turn skewing political opinions and access to unbiased information.

No doubt this rate of change won’t slow down and who knows what lies ahead but, for me, the most exciting element to look forward to is the hope that, in 2018, we start to fit our clothing a little better and begin to understand what this new body and new persona demands of us. We start to not just fear this new life, but we begin to work with it.

I’m looking forward to a lovely break over the festive season, spending time with my family and eating an exceptional amount of food. But, most of all I am looking forward to 2018, to embracing the challenges and excitement that it brings for both me personally and the Speakers Corner team, as we continue to showcase and deliver some of the most incredible, life-affirming, thought-provoking speakers who can help us understand, comprehend and develop ourselves so we can grow that little bit taller.

Nick

For further information or to book a speaker, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070  or email  info@speakerscorner.co.uk .