MENSA: Speaking to the Brilliant

Whenever I heard MENSA, I shuddered at the mere thought of being in the presence of a person of such high intelligence.. let alone speaking to a large room of them! The International High IQ Society.

“Mensa” means “table” in Latin. Mensa is a round-table society, where race, color, creed, national origin, age, politics, educational or social background are irrelevant.

Mensa has three stated purposes: to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity, to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence, and to promote stimulating intellectual and social opportunities for its members.

On July 1, 2016, I had the distinct honor of addressing the American Mensa Annual Gathering, held in San Diego, with the theme of MENSA-CON (like Comic-Con), with a ballroom filled with eager attendees, ready to learn how to connect better with others. To offer perspective… there are around 134,000 Mensans in 100 countries throughout the world. The annual gathering is truly a meeting of the minds!

Now, keep in mind these are brilliant individuals, from 2-100 years old, from varied industries and backgrounds. Candidates for membership of Mensa must achieve a score at – or above – the 98th percentile on a standard test of intelligence.

In the beginning of my presentation they each took a brief communication skills assessment (which the answer they referred to as “binary”), indicating different modalities (they referred to as “channels”).  We had a blast!

Imagine my professional thrill with this testimonial from the Chair: Sheryl Roush is such a dynamic and engaging speaker that we felt very lucky to have her present at the 2016 Mensa-Con American Mensa Annual Gathering. Her presentation on “7 Secrets to Connect with Anyone” was well-attended and among our top rated presentations for the conference. We were fortunate that it was effortless to work with her regarding scheduling and setup and she exceeded our expectations as an interactive and captivating addition to our Leadership Development program.
LaRae Bakerink, Chair, 2016 Mensa-Con

(Evidently, I practice what I teach!)  (But, no, I’m still not a Mensan.)

February 18, 2017, I will again be addressing MENSA, at the Regional Gathering. Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa (GLAAM) is the local group for Los Angeles, Kern, Inyo, and Mono Counties, most of San Bernardino County, and parts of Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Riverside Counties. Information here, http://www.glaam.org/rg/2017/speakers/

For more information on American Mensa, go to www.us.mensa.org
For a list of celebrity Mensans, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mensans

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