3 Simple Ways to be a Better Public Speaker
Get Noticed in a Noisy World
I don’t remember the topic. I don’t remember why I was standing in front of my sixth grade class. I just remember trying to give a presentation. And bombing horribly.
I struggled through my words, forgot the message, and did everything I could to hold back tears while standing in front of my classmates. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Thinking back on it now still makes me cringe with embarrassment.
Thus began my fear of public speaking. For the next ten years, through middle school, high school, and college, the mere idea of speaking in front of a group filled me with crippling anxiety.
I started to avoid any situation that required public speaking. And not just presentations. I struggled to speak up in class or express my thoughts to a group. It was much safer to simply stay quiet.
“All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, and if it was true then, it’s even more true now. It’s a busy world and our ability to get noticed is directly tied to our ability to communicate. Whether it’s speaking in front of large groups, expressing points during a meeting, or talking with someone one-on-one, clear and concise communication is a force multiplier. And if, like I was, you’re avoiding it, then it quickly becomes a…
