Melissa: You're listening to the do something more podcast, and this is episode number 43. Embarrassing moments can be an opportunity to speak up and serve someone. Welcome to the Do Something more podcast, a service oriented show where we highlight the helpers who inspire us all to do something more. I'm your host, Melissa Draper. Thank you so much for being here. Hello and welcome to another episode of the podcast. And today we're going to be talking about another small thing anyone can do to serve those around them by speaking up when someone is experiencing an embarrassing moment. And I'm going to get into that a little more. Explain what I mean by that. But first, I just wanted to give some friendly reminders. If you would like to show the podcast some love, there are a couple of ways you can do that. First of all is by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Another way is by taking any episode that you've really loved and enjoyed and got something out of. Share it with a friend or a family member or a neighbor. You can text a link to the podcast episode, let them know you thought it was a great episode, and have them give it a listen. Or one last thing you can do is follow the podcast on social media. We're on Instagram at Dosomemore podcast and on Facebook at the Do Something more podcast. And I always leave links to both of those in the show notes, so any of those would mean so much to me. And another way to support and show some love to these podcast episodes if you've been enjoying the podcast, or even just had one you enjoyed listening to. So today I wanted to talk about another idea of something that I think can be an act of service. So we've already talked a lot on the podcast about the power of our words and how easy it can be to serve someone with our words. We've talked about giving thank yous when we appreciate what someone has done, giving compliments to friends or even to strangers, kind words to those around us, or even more recently, leaving a review. Those are all simple ways we can use our words to serve others, and they really don't take that much time or effort. And so today I'm introducing another one. And that idea is to be the person who is brave enough and courageous enough to speak up and save someone from an embarrassing moment. So what do I mean by that? Well, I think maybe all of us have had those times when we've experienced maybe coming home and looking in the mirror and realizing we have a big lettuce leaf in our teeth or our zippers down or whatever it is. Or we spilled something on our shirt. I don't know, whatever it might be, you come home and you suddenly realize that that's the case, and you're like, what the. How long has that been there? How many people did I just talk to or interact with? And they saw that and knew that it was there? I feel so stupid. We've all had that happen. So I'm going to present the idea and the encouragement that if you are in that situation and you see someone else, have the courage to speak up and tell them. Let them know they have that piece of lettuce in their teeth or that little drop of whatever that fell on their sweater or whatever it is, just have the courage to speak up and let someone know. And yes, it might be a little awkward, but in the end, many times people are appreciative that somebody said something instead of just ignoring it. Especially when you've been around a lot of people or you're at a party or something like that. It's so nice to have someone point it out to you so you don't walk around and only realize it later, feeling kind of dumb. And I will admit there might be some situations it doesn't feel right or it's not totally appropriate, but I think lots of times it is. And so, of course, to go along with that idea, I had to share a story. I wanted to share one of my most embarrassing moments that is still appropriate to share on a podcast, I guess I should say. And in my story, I was so thankful for that someone. So here's the quick story. It's not long. My story was when I had three small children and my youngest was still a little baby, and I was at church. And our main meeting there at church had just ended, and people were heading out to the next meeting that we went to. And as people were heading out, I saw someone that I needed to talk to that I'd been trying to get a hold of and talk to. And so I told my husband. He was there with the kids. I said, hid here, stay here with the kids. I got to go catch them. And I went and started talking to that person. And in the process, my little baby boy had crawled over to me and was there next to me. And so, of course, I picked him up and put him on my hip, and I kept talking to the person, and I was right there by the door where everyone was filing out as I talked to this person. And just as I finished up or was finishing up, a woman that was in my church congregation in my ward, that I knew kind of well wasn't super good friends with her, but she came over and said, melissa, your skirt is up. And I looked down, and as I had picked up my little baby boy, his foot had caught the bottom of the skirt on my dress. I was bearing my entire leg all the way up to my hip, to anyone that had walked by, and I had no idea. And I had been sitting like that for quite a few minutes. And when she came up and pointed that out, I remember being like, oh, my goodness. And I fixed it. And I felt so silly. And I'd been there for a while, and lots of people had filed out, and I was so grateful that she had taken a minute to come and tell me that out of all those people, she'd come and said something to me. And I was just so grateful for that. And I just, again, felt really dumb. What can you do, though? My little boy caught my skirt on my dress. But that story has just been a good reminder to me when I'm wondering if I should tell someone or I don't want to have that awkward moment or conversation. I remember how grateful I was in my embarrassing story that someone came and let me know so I could fix it, and that out of everyone there, someone was brave enough to speak up and say something. So that's my thought to share with you, and maybe we'll stick with you the next time you're with a good friend, maybe someone you don't know as well, maybe even a coworker, and they are caught in their own embarrassing moment that maybe it will be an opportunity for you to have the courage, because it does take courage in those awkward situations to speak up, say something, and then move on. I think the easiest way in those situations is just to make it short, simple, and then move on with the conversation or where you're going. You don't have to put a lot of focus on it. So that's my thought here today, and I just want to give that reminder again and that encouragement again that we really should not underestimate the power of our words. And in this example, it's kind of a little more funny situation. We think of embarrassing moments or usually stories later that all of us share and we laugh over. Right. Doesn't seem as serious, but I do truly believe that there is power in our words and that as we look for those opportunities throughout our days, we will always be able to find a way to use our words to serve, to lift, to help, and to reach out to those around us and I just think there's a lot of power in that. I've had too many situations where I have been lifted by the simple, positive words of another person. And situations where I know I had the opportunity to return that favor and do that for someone else as well. So in this next week, look for those opportunities. Find ways to serve those around you with your words. It might be an embarrassing moment like we talked about today, or it might be simply in a kind and good conversation with a friend. So thank you so much for being here. I'll see you next time.