We are all born naked into this world, but each of us is fully clothed in potential.
- Emmitt Smith -
In the various roles I've performed over the years there's been the need for public speaking both internally within the organisations and externally with customers, at seminars and conferences, training sessions, briefings and other such things. It didn't come naturally to me meaning I didn't have an innate ability for it and I was nervous about it for a long time - I learned the skills to do it well, trained for it, but nerves still struck each time for longer than I'd care to admit.
There's many techniques to deal with those nerves and one I've heard a lot it, "just imagine the audience naked."
Yeah...nah!
Thinking back on some of the occasions I've had to stand in front of people and speak, deliver training, briefings, keynote speaking and all...well, some of my audiences have been rather challenged from a looks perspective (ugly as fuck) and were the last people I'd want to imagine naked. On the other hand, some of the ladies I've had in audiences were so fucken hot it's difficult not to imagine them naked! So yeah, imagining the audience naked has never been something I've subscribed to - I do not see the point.
I'm not going to go into all the techniques I've learned, that would be super-boring and probably quite irrelevant for anyone reading this post, however I was thinking about them in the last few days as I recently had to speak at an industry thing on behalf of my organisation and in room over three hundred people...and I was a little nervous which has not happened for a long time.
One of the most valuable tools in the (my) public speaking toolbox is confidence, but I don't necessarily mean self-confidence.
I'm talking about confidence in what I'm speaking about whether it's services and products, concepts, mission-specific information and briefings, processes and anything else; being confident in the material means less nerves. A lot of the time presenting to others means questions later and the ill-prepared will flounder there - the fear of that is what often brings the nervousness, so I prepare...a lot. The fear of looking foolish can make people nervous about public speaking also...so don't look foolish, prepare!
I also remind myself that the audience will only know I'm nervous if I show I'm nervous and will respond to that in kind; the energy I put out is what they'll radiate back and that can mean success or failure. Getting into a synergistic situation with the audience is critical, engaging them, giving confidence in that what I have to say is worth listening to and considering, whether they agree with it or not.
These things in isolation don't ensure a smooth process and neither do they eliminate nerves; they help minimise nervousness though, when combined with other elements, and that can help me deliver something the audience will respond to, absorb and feel comfortable voicing questions, concerns and discussions.
I have not once had someone approach me after I've delivered an address at a public speaking event or situation who asked me, "hey, what did I look like naked?"
I've been asked questions though, engaged in discussion and conversation, which deepens the value of what I've delivered and brought opportunity, solutions and other positive things. I've also been thanked and praised which felt nice. On a few occasions I've been spoken to later, had constructive (private) criticism, which I invite and has helped me improve and that's always welcome as well. It's made me better.
In my recent public speaking escapades there was a lovely lady in the front row who caught my eye for being very attractive and thinking about her naked would probably have been quite entertaining...but also very distracting. Imagining naked people in the audience at a public speaking event isn't a legitimate cure for nervousness and I've never understood why it's a suggested method of making public speaking easier. Only training, practice and preparation can make public speaking easier...and time I guess.
Have you ever done any public speaking and if so have you found it easy or hard, were you confident or nervous? Either way, how did you prepare yourself and the material you were delivering, how did the audience respond, what did they get from it, and how would you rate yourself as a public speaker out of ten?
If you're still looking for the naked people in this post you should know, there are none - although that's my hand in the image...and it's naked.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own
