How do you feel about Public Speaking??

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A few years ago, we went with some friends to celebrate one of my best friend's birthday in Barcelona. Over a few glasses of champagne, I had the crazy idea to throw a challenge to my beautiful friends. I’ve asked them what was The Thing, Action or other that really scared them and would push them outside their confidence zone. Once we’ve got all the answers (getting out of the corporate world, trail running, playing an instrument in front of an audience ….) I’ve asked them if they would be ready to push their boundaries and work on their fear? Of course, they were ready -))

For me it was clearly public speaking. I'm quite shy by nature (yes, I am) and getting up on a stage to speak in front of an audience made me literally sick. But since I had started this crazy idea, I wanted to follow through with my idea. A year later I started my first lecture. Over 200 people came to listen to me. Did I have fun? Nope… I felt sick before and during, sweating, my breathing was not right, I didn’t like the sound of my voice on the microphone… But at the end of this event what I felt was a huge adrenaline rush and a creativity boost. After this first one, I committed myself to do 10 talks, and if by the end of those 10 talks I was still scared, I would definitively quit. ?

?Guess what? After the 6th event, I’ve started to enjoy it … really …. The connection with the audience, the energy, and the joy! I’ve learned a few things along the way that I might help others:

Imagine your audience in bathing suits (hum):

Like many people, I approached public speaking with my ego: "What will they think of me? How do I sound? How do I look? What happens if I lose a word, a thought…. ?” But guess what, the audience isn't thinking about you (Not all of them anyway). Their biggest concern is figuring out what you are talking about and how it can be useful to them. So just take a moment and breath. If breathing is hard, imagine your audience in bathing suits (leopard!). I can assure you that it will help.?

1. Greet them

Before any kind of speech, I look at the audience and see who is here, give them a nod, a hello or a recognition. Depending on the occasion, I would tell them something nice, funny that will make them smile and relax before going into my presentation. I try my best to breath normally and be myself.

2. Topic & timeline & technique

After the introduction I explain what my topic is, why it could be important to them and the time schedule. It sounds so simple, but setting expectations helps people relax and enjoy the ride. You want to make sure that all the technical aspects are working, your presentation is on the screen, the sound is not too low, not too loud, good lighting and you have a decent microphone.

Speak slowly, enunciate, and use short words, sentences, and paragraphs. Lastly, get rid of filler words like "um," "ah," "like" and other expressions that can distract from or bloat your message when used in excess. Practice is key here!

3. Be HUMAN

The audience wants to know how you think and feel about what you're sharing.

Information doesn't speak for itself. They don’t want to see too many slides with too much information on it. They want to see you and hear you. Make it meaningful by explaining what the subject means to you. ??

?4. It’s all about the conclusion

Your speech is only as good as your conclusion. There's no single best way to wrap up, but my general rule is to always write out my conclusion in advance and memorize it. A conclusion should remind the audience what the speech was about, and often reiterates a call to action. Look them in the eye and give them something to remember after the presentation is over.

If you must remember one thing, be human, genuine and have fun!

PS: You are probably wondering what happened with my girlfriend’s goals… I’m super proud of each of them as they have succeeded in their own challenges. What would be your challenge? Please comment below.