How to Find the Courage to Speak in Public

Speaking in front of audiences is a fear many people have. That's unfortunate because many people have to speak in front of people for work if that's their job, and, if you're an entrepreneur, speaking in front of large groups is a great way to get more exposure for your business, and you're missing out by believing that you can't do it.

Some of the biggest fears that are easy to hold on to are:

"I'm going to be awful, and people will think I did a lousy job."

"People will laugh at me."

"I might get tongue-tied and not be able to speak because I will freeze up from fear."

And so forth. If you need to speak, or are considering becoming a speaker, my hope is that you'll leave this article feeling either inspired, or at least laughing enough that you're willing to try it, at least once!

I believe, when it comes right down to the true impact of your taking the risk to speak in public, there are really only 3 possible outcomes:

You really are awful. You will totally bomb, fail miserably, and people will walk out of the room early because you're so bad. If you do this, guess what? You just gave everyone in that room a great story! Instead of complaining about whatever awful situation in their life that's been dragging them down, they can now focus on you and realize that their life is now much better because, at least they did not make a fool of themselves in front of lots of people! And, so, you allowed everyone in the room to be happier in their own lives, that's pretty great if you ask me. They will go home and tell a good story when they get there. Oh, and you get to learn from your mistakes, which you simply cannot be more lucky to do. You took the risk to fail, and now, it's going to allow you to succeed don't ever forget that! In fact, if you really fail completely, that means only one thing - you are GUARANTEED to do better the next time you try.

You will make people laugh, possibly at you, not with you. Good job! So what if people laugh at you because you dress funny, you're weird, your presentation was funny and that means you got people laughing. In my book, that's a great thing. Laughter means everyone in the room is happy, and you did that! Laughter, if you haven't read about it, is also great medicine and by making everyone in the room laugh, you just made them healthier! Well done!

You will inspire people. Even if, for the very fact that you ventured onto the stage, scared, not sure you could do it, and taking the risk to fail, you could, potentially, inspire other people. Isn't that wonderful? You have no idea how your very presence in front of a room full of people could leave a lasting, positive impression. Not to mention, that your presentation may also be so good it leaves everyone with inspiration to take action in their own lives.
If you're looking for where to start, try taking a class or joining an organization like Toastmasters to learn some good speaking strategies. Next, put together a brief presentation and practice it on your friends, in front of the mirror, or a video camera. Try it out, practice it, and eventually you will get more comfortable with the material. Finally, go do it! If you have the luxury to choose, start with a small audience. Learn your strengths, learn your weaknesses, and most of all, learn from mistakes.

Take The Plunge - What's The Worst That Can Happen?

If you're hesitating to take the plunge into public speaking, ask yourself: "What's the worst thing that can possibly happen, even if I fail miserably in my first attempt at public speaking?" I'll tell you. You'll be embarrassed. Perhaps you'll be very embarrassed. That's it! And then what? Nothing, absolutely nothing!

What Happened Before?

Instead of imagining how terrible even that would be, do this: Think back to the most embarrassing incident in your entire life. What happened after that? Nothing that matters to you today, right? So, any discomfort you felt was just temporary, wasn't it? So, for all practical purposes, you could say that the result was... nothing.

Only if you've allowed that experience to control some aspect of your life can it be said that the experience actually harmed you. And, if that's the case, it's so only because you chose to allow it to. It's over, so let it go.

What If You're Criticized?

Back to the present. Suppose you somehow manage to give an absolutely horrible presentation. What then? Most people will be in your corner. The next time you speak, they'll pull for you, and will admire you for your courage.

But what if someone says something negative to you about your presentation? It's unlikely, but if they do, take it away from them by beating them at their own game.

If they say it was bad, you thank them and say they're just being kind to you, that it worse than bad, it was simply atrocious! As you go on and on, they'll soon tire of it, stop you and say that you're getting carried away, it wasn't that bad. They'll try to balance the scales, and will wind up complimenting you. So, you can effectively neutralize even your worst critics by outdoing them.

However, the odds are maybe 100 to 1 that you'll never have to employ that device. So, where does that leave you? With no audible critics except the worst critic of all - you. Let's go back to your most embarrassing incident. Who has been your worst critic about that incident since it happened? You. So, self-criticism was the most harmful result of the incident, not what others did or said.

You're In Control!

That's good to know, because it tells you that the worst outcome of your giving the worst presentation of all time will be the criticism you'll level at yourself. What's good about that? Well, that's the only thing you can control after your presentation! So, the outcome is in your hands. You'll determine how things turn out by how you choose to view the matter afterwards.

Putting the Pitch Into Your Pitch

Have you ever sat through a boring presentation?

Of course we have.

A boring presentation, specifically one that uses a monotone voice tells us two terrible things: the speaker isn't excited about their message and the speaker doesn't care about his audience. Ouch!

But before we a too quick to cast judgment on others, have we ever been guilty of a boring presentation?

I know I have been.

As public speakers we must utilize inflection. Inflection utilizes several components: volume, rate, pause, pitch, and timbre (tone variation - think Bob Dylan -vs- Johnny Cash). The hardest of these elements to utilize is pitch. There are three reasons why pitch is so hard to use: 1. fear often constricts our throats and makes it really hard to change the frequency of our voice, 2. we often mistake and substitute volume for pitch, and 3. we are often ignorant of our voice quality and pay it little mind.

Three ways to add pitch to our presentations:

1. Loosen up our throats. A big ol' yawn before going on stage is an easy way to open up our throats. It doesn't hurt to loosen up like we would before an athletic event - roll our shoulders, roll our heads, jump up and down, etc. Anything to stay loose can serve our throats.

2. Intentionality. We are unlikely to use pitch if we don't plan to use it.

BIG SECRET HERE: find an interval in pitch (like twinkle, twinkle little star - do to sol in the eight note major scale) and start speaking on that higher note. We will be surprised at how starting on a higher note will raise our awareness and use of pitch immediately!

3. Accept your voice and use inflection to make it sound even better. If we don't like our voice we are more likely to ignore what we can do to make improvements. I used to cringe at listening to my voice on a recording, but every time I use inflection and start speaking at a higher pitch I am happy with the improvements I am making to my voice quality.

The more we can utilize pitch in our formal and informal communications the more people will enjoy listening to what we have to say. And don't we want to be heard?

Pitch also serves as an excitement meter for ourselves and those listening to us. Flat tone? Unexcited. Whooping and hollering? Somebody is excited about something.

Toastmasters Friday: Whattya Mean You're Going Into Leadership?

Yes, hell has frozen over and I'm in line to be the next Area Governor here in my local geographic cluster of clubs known as D26/F/2.

Some of you may be thinking it wasn't long ago I was stepping down as President of a club, and moving behind the scenes at another, all in protest of Toastmaster's rebranding themselves as a place "Where Leaders Are Made". Well you're right. So what business do I have going into the leadership track now?

So why try become an Area Governor? Have I drunk the Kool-Aid? Am I now a card-carrying proponent of the new branding? No - not at all. I still have yet to run into any new members who joined to be leaders, or because TM is now saying it's a great place to train leaders. Doesn't mean they don't exist, but none of 'em had stopped by to MY club.

So how can I take a leadership position? Won't I have to tow the line? I don't think so. For one, the program has yet to really change. Nothing I'll be encouraging my clubs to do will be any different than a few years ago. I don't have to convince them to buy new banners or lecterns. Primarily, I'll be checking in to make sure the clubs are meeting their goals, TM's goals, and the goals of their members, regardless of their use of a tagline.

Additionally, I'll be a resource for any issues that may come up with the clubs, and be responsible for setting up two Area Contests throughout the year. There's more, of course, but it's all doable.

Area Governor will NOT equal Drill Sergeant...

What I won't have to do is push the tagline down anyone's throats. In fact, I haven't experienced anybody beyond a Brand Manager, training at TLI, or the Board say much at all about the branding. Our trio supports it, but outside of color and logo changes, I haven't seen much dogma coming forth.

Also, let me be clear, I don't disagree that Toastmasters teaches leadership. I simply disagree with it being the lead dog. I believe leadership springs from our longtime strength - communication. It was this reasoning I used to talk to our club members about pursuing their CL manuals last night. I don't think it steers away from the new brand at all, other than putting speaking in the driver's seat, where it's always been.

I'll certainly mute my dissatisfaction with the branding, that ship has long sailed, for one, and it wouldn't be 'becoming of an officer' for another. It sounds like TM is working on creating more leadership-driven projects, so perhaps "Where Leaders Are Made", if not wholly accurate today, will be within the next few years.

In the meantime, I support our program as it stands today, and I find no issue with serving as a District Officer, and TM should have no issue, either.

On my side, I'm not competing this year - I'll be speaking at another District Conference the weekend of my own anyway. I've been wanting to step away from competing, so what better excuse for the next two years than this? I can finally get my DTM award, which I've been on the cusp of for years. Wait til my blog posts on my High Performance Leadership project!

Who knows, I might just run for a higher office next year. I could be ineligible for the next six years if I go up the chairs. But first, lets tackle AG, and see if I can Govern....& Deliver.