Jun 27, 2023
Let’s face it: Public speaking is hard. It can be scary, too.
There’s an old saying that people fear public speaking even over death, and there is some truth to it. Millions of Americans are terrified of speaking in public. It’s understandable: Many people think that going on stage lays them bare. It can feel like the audience sees inside your brain or your soul. But over time, repetition mitigates that dread or fear. Practice may not make perfect since public speaking is still difficult, but it can at least make you more comfortable on stage. It’s like anything else: You won’t become a faster runner if you never run.
Self-improvement stems from self-awareness. For example, I have always been a social, outgoing person who values personal and professional connections, and I’ve never had a crippling fear of public speaking. But I knew that my public speaking wasn’t perfect — my delivery could be sharper, my stories could be more interesting, my jokes could be funnier and so on. With that in mind, I decided to take a public speaking class. After months of training, I eventually graduated from the program, officially attaining the status of a professionally trained public speaker. The experience changed my life, and I honestly couldn’t recommend it more.
The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in May 2023.
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