I have spent most of my adult life speaking in front of others… until April of 2020. Events started getting cancelled + life changed for most of us.
As someone who’s entire career consisted of talking to people – it was pretty difficult to learn how to do it all virtually. But, it was doable… + then very comfortable… + then preferred.
I love sitting in the comfort of my own home, in sweats, giving presentations through Zoom. It rocks! Dog curled up on my feet, endless coffee in the next room, my own bathroom… amazing!
But we all know how the story goes – life has slowly returned to in-person events + meetings, + that means we are now face-to-face again. That can be downright scary – especially if you haven’t done much public speaking over the past few years.
Honestly, the start of the Manitoba Moose hockey season was the first time I would be presenting in front of a crowd + even I was nervous about that!
Over the past couple of months, I’ve started doing more + more in person events, so I wanted to put together a list of my Top Five Tips to getting back to public speaking… in public!
ONE: Identify the goal of your speech or presentation: what are you offering? What value are you giving your audience? What are you teaching them? How are you inspiring them? You always have something to offer – what is it? Focus on that as your guiding light.
TWO: Practice + prepare: Write it out + rehearse it out loud in front of a mirror, in front of a friend, or in front of your phone recording yourself to watch it back. This will get you familiar + more comfortable with your material if you go through it several times.
THREE: Visualize your past successes: Think back to a time where you rocked it on stage! Replay it in your mind + relive the feelings all over again. Your mind is SO powerful – use it to your advantage!
FOUR: Proudly showcase who you are: Be yourself! You’re nervous enough already – why not make things easier on yourself by wearing your favourite clothes + using words you actually use! Don’t try to be someone else, or someone you think you need to be! If you’re funny – tell a joke or two. If you’re an open book – share a personal story or two.
FIVE: Remind yourself that you don’t need to be confident – you just have to be courageous enough to get up there! We are all just getting back in our grooves, we are all in this together + people are a lot more understanding than you may think. Courage over confidence, while you are getting back to public speaking!
So, what do you think? Doable right? If you did it once, you can do it again. And it will only get easier each + every time!
–Kahla