Public Speaking

This is a $1M question for a lot of my clients. It’s usually because they get tripped up by their perception of a lack of confidence.

Here’s the thing: confidence is built decision by decision. It’s a skill that you determine you will develop.

Here are three important tips for developing your confidence. 

1. Change your perspective:

“I HAVE to speak in public” becomes “I GET to speak in public.”
Not everyone gets to have a voice. This is your chance to get your ideas across. Make the most of it.

2. Practise

Practise, practise, practise. Simple, but almost nothing will improve your confidence more than practise.

For each speech/presentation, take the time to put it together in a way that suits your style. That might be bullet points, slides, written out in full, on a teleprompter. Then get familiar with your material. (That’s unlikely to be a quick read through the night before.)

Practise all the way through – so you don’t just get a well-practised beginning and an ending you’ve only seen once!

Ideally, practise at least once in front of humans who can give you useful feedback. Take on board the feedback that makes a difference.

There are so many questions about how to do this – more than I can write in a blog, so come and work with me.

3. Approach each speaking opportunity with intention

Doesn’t matter how big or small it is, every time you get up in front of people, know what aspect of the skill of public speaking you’re trying to hone. Afterwards, evaluate how you went.

Examples:
– I’m practising projecting my voice. Could everyone hear me? What could I do better?
– I’m practising the beginnings and endings of my speech. Did I grab their attention at the beginning and leave them with something to think about at the end? What could I do better?
– I’m practising using a mic. Did that go smoothly? What could I do better?

And, a bonus…

I used to have a favourite pair of boots that I would wear when competing in speaking contests. The heels made a very satisfying click on hard floors. They said, “Look out, everyone, here I come.” That sound gave me a huge amount of confidence. When I wore them, I always won.

Get yourself a pair of boots. 😉