Imposter's Syndrome and TEDx talk

I just delivered my first TEDx talk last Saturday! It was an amazing, emotional, life-changing experience!

But at around 9 PM the night before my TEDx talk, I experienced Imposter's Syndrome.

These thoughts came to mind:

“Sha, are you good enough to deliver the TEDx talk?

You will talk about overcoming the fear of public speaking.

What if you get so nervous you mess up? That’s too much pressure!

The video will be published on TEDx YouTube with 38M subscribers, no editing and it will be there forever.

Your career as a professional speaker will be on the line.”

Other thoughts came to mind and I had to stop myself from entertaining those thoughts.

So I decided to watch Brene Brown’s TEDx talk on The Power of Vulnerability. Three minutes into watching it, I said, “Oh no! I’m not as good as Brene Brown. What will I do?!”

At this point, I was already so exhausted physically and emotionally. I've been writing and rewriting my TEDx talk for more than a month. And then on Wednesday night, only three days before the TEDx event, I decided to change the talk. I’ve also cried a lot in the process of writing my TEDx talk because I had to bring to life some painful and heart-warming stories.

So I said, “Relax, Sha!” I pep-talked myself and reminded myself what public speaking is and why I’m doing it. I shared the key message and idea of my TEDx talk with me. In other words, I was the first audience of my own TEDx talk! Hehe!

My fear turned into excitement and an even stronger conviction about how powerful the idea I'll share in my TEDx talk is! It can potentially help millions of people overcome their fear of public speaking. I’ve met students, millennials, professionals, C-suite leaders in their 60s, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies who are scared of public speaking. Some CEOs shared with me that they’re so scared of public speaking, that’s why they just read the speech that their staff wrote for them.

If you’re afraid of public speaking, I feel you. I cried in my first speech — no words, just tears. And even if I’ve been speaking professionally for over a decade now, I still experience nervousness from time to time. My Imposter’s Syndrome the night before my TEDx talk was so severe I almost froze! Thank God my TEDx talk literally pulled me out of the pit of doubts and anxiousness and brought me to a space where I felt excitement!

This is why I am so excited to share my TEDx talk video with you once it’s out!!!

My hope is that the idea I shared in my TEDx talk will help you overcome your fear of public speaking and inspire you to speak up and raise others up. #TEDx #TEDxSpeaker