How to feel comfortable in public speaking? In this Expert Insight Interview, Seth Donlin discusses developing confidence in public speaking to deliver your message right. Seth Donlin is a Founder and Head Coach at Awen Coaching, a marketing and communications coaching firm specializing in coaching entrepreneurs to identify, attract, and connect with their ideal clients.
The interview discusses:
- The fundamental fear
- The Imposter Syndrome
- Authenticity on the stage
The Fear
The most fundamental fear that people have when it comes to public speaking is being thought less of by a group of people. Public speaking is a skill to be taught and becomes pretty easy once you overcome initial obstacles. Obstacles arise once you start getting too much into your head. When having a regular conversation with friends, people are usually great speakers. But the moment they stay in front of an unknown audience, they start to analyze everything they say or do.
The key to public speaking is to shift the mindset to serve the audience. Public speaking event is not about the speaker but the audience. The speaker is providing some value for the audience. Thus, the more you focus on adding value for the audience, the less time you will have to think about negative things.
The Imposter Syndrome
Probably all people felt at least once in their lifetime the Imposter Syndrome. And the ones who haven’t are definitely not experts on their subject matter like they think. Everyone who knows their subject matter also knows that there is so much unknown left to discover. Thus, if you experience Imposter Syndrome, that means you know quite a lot, and you should be sharing your expertise with the world.
Moreover, being an entrepreneur means that you will be doing 95 percent the same thing as your competitors, and only five percent will be different. Thus, to succeed, you have to be ready to make those five percent as you go. Do not be afraid to be creative and try new things. You might succeed right away, or you might fail and learn a lesson for the next time. Successful entrepreneurs constantly operate on that five percent edge where they do things as they go.
Authenticity
The common mistake people make is trying to create a persona for the stage. Instead, be authentic. Be the best version of yourself on your best day. Think of the day when you were 100 percent best you and recreate how you felt, thought, and acted that day. That way, you are performing for the public but in a very authentic way. Moreover, when you are telling stories, go with the relatable ones. Nobody wants to hear crazy stories, but the ones they can resonate with and understand the point.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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