Fall For The Book Post

Financial Advisor Ric Edelman Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7pm

With a packed week schedule, my only available time to attend a "Fall for the Book" event was Thursday evening after my class. I looked to see which presentation was available right after my class, and noticed a financial advisor speaking. Having started my school diploma as a business major, I was really excited to see that the presentation was on a subject that I was very much interested in. I knew that this was something I could really benefit from as well so I knew that this presentation was a perfect fit for me.

Upon arrival, I took a seat in the beginning of the room to ensure I could see the speaker well. I looked around and noticed a very diverse crowed of audience members, from undergrads, to elderly, to financial advisors, and more. I looked to be the youngest one in the room, especially sitting in the font of the room. I was very interesting when Mr. Ric Edelman started speaking because it made perfect sense and I was able to understand financial importance in a different way. But the interesting part about his presentation was that it wasn't a presentation, rather a interaction between his audience memebers. Many came in with questions that they have already prepared prior listening to his radio show and from his books. So, he took the time to answer as many questions as he could. Although, I was very impressed with the financial knowledge Mr. Ric had, I did not particularly enjoy the way he connected to the audience. Often times, especially when undergrands were trying to question his statements or get a better understanding of what he means, he publicly would humiliate them by saying phrases such as "don't act like you know so much about finance."He also asked me the question of if I thought 50,000 was a large sum of money individuals are making, and because I earn a very decent salary at my current job I did not nod my head to agree with him. He automatically went to presume that my father is rich and that I don't value money, calling me out in front of the audience when it completely was the opposite of that.

In conclusion, although I was able to took good advice from him in the financial department, the one piece of advice I would have for this speaker is to get more educated on public communication and social skills with his audience.