“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
~ Unknown (attributed to many who probably didn’t say it…)
Dear experienced speaker:
Do you worry about making a fool of yourself?
No?
Maybe you should…
One of the biggest fears of a beginning speaker is to make a fool of herself, not yet having had the experience of making many mistakes over time and living through them.
Those of us who’ve been speaking for a long time, however, usually lose this fear along the way. We’ve made fools of ourselves enough times to wear foolishness as a badge of honor, and we take pride in having survived much embarrassment.
But guess what:
There are other ways of making a fool of yourself — without even knowing it!
Seasoned speakers have a knack for confidence and self-assuredness on stage, but that confidence can very easily slip over into complacency, laziness and indifference over time.
Let me ask you some questions:
Have you been around the block a few times as a speaker? And maybe around the state and country, too?
Has it been a while since you got actual constructive feedback on your presentation from someone who knows what they’re talking about?
Are you too busy to properly prepare your presentations, finding yourself “winging it” and throwing them together at the last minute with no prep or practice?
Do you walk out of your presentations without a plan for staying connected to your audience — or turning them into clients?
Are you sleep-talking through your presentations because you’ve done them so many times they’ve lost all their freshness?
Do you enjoy public speaking and assume that’s enough to make your presentations effective and successful?
Are you experienced but out of practice because of a job change or other circumstances, and don’t want to take the stage looking rusty and out of touch?
I get it.
We all get a little too laid-back at times. We lose our energy and motivation. We go through the motions.
Experienced speakers: If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself settling into the comfortable security blanket of mediocrity.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Shake off the cobwebs, warm up those stiff muscles, get off the proverbial couch, and let’s reinvigorate your speaking!
Join me on Tuesday, January 26 for my FREE virtual training:
“The Top 3 Mistakes Experienced Speakers Make… And What to Do Instead!”
I will share some of my best tips for what to do when you find yourself stuck and stagnating, instead of dynamic, moving and growing.
We’ll dig into:
How you can make one change that will instantly revive your presentations
Why you need to go back to the beginning and do what the newbies are taught to do
How confidence can actually be hurting your presentations
What you can ask your audience to find out how you’re really doing
How to ensure you’re actually giving the audience what they want, not what you think they need
What you’re doing (or more accurately, NOT doing) that’s causing you to leave money on the table (yeah, it’s a cliché, but it’s true!)
A sneak peek at my upcoming retreat, “Shake Up Your Speaking: Get Real… Get Results,” coming to Santa Barbara in spring 2016
And more!