Leaning Into The Fiery Pit of Nervousness
How this one trick vanquished my fear of public speaking for life
There I was, minutes away from speaking to an audience of 150 at one of Canada’s fastest-growing public speaking competitions, Speaker Slam. This would be my first time speaking in public, outside of work, at least. It was a one-minute pitch about an idea, a story, or a business. I had until then always had a fear of public speaking and although I had made strides in overcoming the latter, I was still a far way off. I wanted to get over it for good, so I opted to jump off the highest cliff available to me at the time. Oh, and I also chose one of the most vulnerable topics I could think of, the night I met my romantic partner or the ‘how did you meet story’. As they say, in for a penny, in for a pound.
I must have practiced for hours. I remember writing my speech ten times over and practicing by recording myself over and over again. It was a story of facing fears, of synchronicity, and surrender. I read any online tips I could find — I did Superman poses every day for 2 mins at a time to build up my confidence, practiced in front of a mirror, and even attended a Toastmasters meeting where I could practice my speech in front of others. The latter was key as nothing beats finding out mirror-speak paled compared to real folks. Through it all…
