One of our most successful and funniest clients simply hates public speaking. As the founder of a booming enterprise, he travels all over the world, presenting cutting-edge, breakthrough ideas (he’s a little bit famous). And he dreads public speaking.
In the first session, he named one specific goal that stood out: “I want to experience more situational awareness.” When pushed for clarification, he said that most of the time he doesn’t register what’s going on around him. It’s a blur. A hit or miss. Whether you have experienced this or not, you can surely empathize.
We upended his preparation process – threw out tired ideas and minor league preparation techniques. We identified ways to craft stories with relevant hooks. We designed slides to capture his strong narrative and uncovered techniques to align his natural style with the messages he is passionate about sharing.
It’s working. The degree of sensory input has improved and his audience awareness has increased. He puts in the work to make his presentations come to life.
Following his most recent keynote he said, “OK, so we’ve made presenting suck a lot less…I’m more relaxed, on point and conversational. Now, let’s start working on my next three keynotes.” Music to our ears.
Mastery in public speaking is not magic. The place to begin is always with awareness. Add commitment, a sense of humor and a long-term view, and your speaking skills will advance accordingly. No one stays stuck unless they stop learning.