Speaker Goals
Last night, I had the privilege of working with some dedicated people to help them beat their fears of public speaking. We worked together at the flagship Microsoft Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. I’m super grateful to Mel and Angelina at the Microsoft store for being such gracious hosts.
(I also have to give a shout-out to Word and PowerPoint since I used them to create the presentation and have been using Word since it came out in the mid-80s!)
I don’t plan exactly what I’ll say at my workshops. It’s best to keep things super interactive. So, the participants drive a lot of what we discuss. Last night, many people specifically asked for ideas on how to get over the sweaty-palmed-heart-pounded terror. And we did. The biggest piece of advice I gave them was to figure out their “why.” Why do they want to get up and speak? Some have to for their jobs, but I asked them to dig deeper.
Don’t make money the goal.
“Money can’t be your motivator,” I said. “Dig below that. Why do you have to say what you do?”
“I’m the CEO of my company,” one man said. “I need to speak to my employees. I need to give them instructions.”
“For what reason?” I asked.
“So they’ll know what to do?”
“Yes, but why? What’s below what they need to know what to do? So the company is successful? So they’ll feel more confident?”
“Yes, both of those.”
And that was great! If people feel more confident, they’ll do better. Further, that helps everyone – the company and the people.
Dig deeper.
Go beneath the surface. Even if you have to do it for work, think about why you’re doing it. Once you know the real reason, it will boost your courage. Let the reason put a fire in your belly to speak up and speak out. Make your goal more important than your fear.
That’s how you’ll succeed as a speaker and in your life.
What is your “why?” What makes you want to have your say? Comment below and let me know.
[bctt tweet=”Make your goal more important than your fear. ” username=”izoldat”]