?? How to Rethink Your Public Speaking Fear

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75% of adults hate public speaking.?

But we all know how being a good speaker can be a game-changer in our career.

So, to help out the PBB community, I called up my buddy Eric to get his thoughts.

He jumps on 100+ keynotes a year and has more flights booked this next month than me this entire year.

Today he’s gonna help us tackle the world of public speaking.

??On The Menu

• What it takes to be a good speaker
• How to build momentum and present yourself well
• Frameworks to A/B test your speaking skills

Let’s dougie.

JH: How did you build momentum in the first 90 days of public speaking??

ET: Public speaking has been a long journey and, truthfully, not much happens in 90 days.?

So far, this has been an 8-year journey and only now I’m starting to feel like things are really taking off.?

That said, just like improving in sport, relationships, or a hobby, asking for feedback, making small changes, and being very coachable were just as important for me then as it is now.

JH: How much public speaking is theory and learning vs practice and a/b testing?

ET: Unlike comedians or athletes, keynote speakers rarely have practice stages or times before the big show.

?Since the mirror isn’t a great audience, I test a lot of my material in the form of posts, articles, tweets, or short videos.?

From there, I’ll build ‘bits’, short stories that I’ll share with family and friends before taking them to the stage.?

Once I have 60 minutes I really like it, I’ll swap out 20-30% of my keynote each time knowing that 70-80% of my keynote will be tested and well-received.?

I know I’ll never get better by saying the same thing over and over again, but won’t try a 100% new keynote – ever.?

More importantly, though, I watch videos from my past keynotes. I watch for movement, tone, gestures, pausing, etc.?

I’ll learn more from watching a story being told than I will while practicing it in front of a mirror.

JH: How has storytelling played a role in developing relationships with stakeholders, conference organizers and audience members. How do you use that as a feedback loop for future events?

ET: Data alone doesn’t stick. Stories do. I learned quickly that a keynote void of stories was forgotten before the end of the cocktail reception after my event.?

Storytelling is the single thing that has taken my speaking from ‘informative’ to ‘memorable’.?

Now, I’m often reminded of stories I told years ago when running into someone from an audience I spoke to. A keynote full of great stories could be remembered for a lifetime.?

JH: What would you tell someone who was looking to build a career in speaking??

ET: Fall in love with the journey, not the destination. ??

Speaking isn’t just about an hour on stage.?

It is the 100 hours that go into:?

• crafting the messaging,?
• battling rejection with potential clients,?
• nailing the sales pitch,
• Curating incredible stories,
• really defining your lane, differentiator, and messaging

and?

• finding out and getting over the fact that the memory card that captured your best gig is corrupt and the video is lost??

It is a 40-year career, don’t expect to be great in the first year (or 5).

JH: What’s been your North Star to evaluate progress with stage speaking?

ET: I’ve never had a monetary goal when it comes to speaking.?

For me, speaking is about lifestyle, community, learning, performing, and never crossing the finish line (there is no 'done' in speaking).?

I love the people in this industry, the coaches and friends that have helped me along the way, and the life this career has enabled me to live. I’m so excited about the years to come, the lessons I’ll learn, and the people I get to spend time with along the way.

Find out more about Eric by checking out his website here . And if you’re looking to take speaking seriously, reach out to him!

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?? Riff of the Day

I’m planning a demo day for LOI Venture on June 14th and would love to see some of you there if you can make it out. Here’s the link to RSVP . More info coming soon.

Thanks for reading. I try hard to make it worth your time. Got feedback? Let me know .

Stay outta’ trouble and catch you next week.

??? Joel

Wanna learn more about storytelling? Check out my class in October .

You can also learn more about my work on my Website , Twitter or LinkedIn .