Posts Tagged ‘talk’
Speak to Your Public . . . first in a series on Public Speaking
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
The silence was deafening. You could hear a pin drop. The crowd was still, each face looking up to me in anticipation of what I would say next. Through the roaring din in my head, I heard a woman stutter with every word that escaped from her mouth. Oh, my God, it was me!
That, my friends, is the scenario I have always envisioned if I ever got up to speak to a group of people. With clichés included.
I pointed swiftly with my finger to the wall behind them, wanting to avert their gaze from my trembling, shuddering personae.
Oh good, that was smart. Now I can collect myself. Wait! They’re looking back at me again. What will I do? I know. I’ll drop my notes off the podium. Then someone will have to pick them up and I’ll establish a relationship with someone in the audience so I can have a friend. A friend, a friend, my kingdom for a friend!!!
Yup, my army of public speaking resisters, you guessed it. None of that occurred during my first foray into public speaking, albeit only 2 minutes, 37 seconds. Prior to being introduced to the audience on that fateful day, I had already spent days memorizing my speech. And I had spent years writing marketing material for my company. I knew what I was talking about. I had no reason to lack confidence in this presentation. But, no, like so many of you, I had multitudinous reasons to never, ever speak to a crowd of people. But it all boiled down to one time-honored tradition in the ranks of probably 99% of the human nation: I was “scared to death.” And then I looked out – or down because I was on a stage – at a good 300 pairs of eyes staring up at me, and with little exception, these were friendly eyes, many with smiles, beckoning me to smile back and start my speech. So I did.
Sure, there was a little stuttering. There was a wee bit of hesitation. But as I looked out on the masses, starting my speech by making light of the accolades said of my prowess as a commercial photographer by the Master of Ceremonies, I lost a good 50% of my fear. These people were actually laughing at my self-deprecating humor. And, with that, I realized one thing. They wanted me to feel at ease with the crowd. They wanted me to succeed in my presentation. And I did.
So what do I want you to get from my experience? I want you to cancel your monthly subscription to Guest Speaker Revulsion. Put down your new book, “In Praise of Public-Speaking Resistance.” And, yes, as you sit there gasping for air at such a thought, there is one last thing I want you to discontinue. That’s right. Your next weekly Aversion Therapy Anonymous meeting. Yep, the ATA. It has to be put into your past. It’s time to move on, my comrades in business, because it’s now time to take the next step on your own. Time for you, too, to step up on the dais and cry your eyes out. Oh, wait, I regress. It’s time to sing your heart out, to speak loud and strong. It’s time to bring focus to yourself. The confidence to do so may not come before it’s done, but the second time around just got easier.
[Look for my upcoming further blogs on the subject of Public Speaking for your business.]
– Dione Benson
