by Tracey Ehman, Web Mistress/Virtual Marketing Director
I know how much speaking can help you build and grow your business, and yet I almost feel sick to my stomach at the thought of speaking. So you can imagine how I felt when I actually committed to speaking at an event last weekend. What I found though, was that like most things in life, the anticipation, the unknown, was far worse that what I actually experienced.
It was a great opportunity to introduce people to what I know, and how I can help them, and it is important to get out there. As women speakers, we need to triumph over our fears and take advantage of vast amount of possibilities that are presented to us when we are willing to speak.
Please share the times you have triumphed over your fear to get up on stage…. even if for some of you that is a long forgotten memory.
As a proud member of the Women Speakers Association, and committed to supporting others reach their business success, Tracey Ehman is on the cusp on adding more speaking to her business.
When I first began speaking to people in an informal setting it was really through customer service opportunities through work. As my career progressed I found that companies with a solid training and development program helped employees enhance their speaking capabilities and fear there of through customer service training dialogue techniques that worked. Some companies will even offer talent coaching which is the same as taking an acting class to enhance employees abilities through technique training. My personal preference that worked well in the beginning as a good first start was through joining Toastmasters International. Toastmasters offered a very formal but more private setting that teaches people how to speak well. The engagement process started by allowing people to talk about the one thing they know the most about which is themselves. Then toastmasters slowly offers you a natural forward progression because of it’s structured format that takes you in levels in learning how to speak, how to hear how you sound and offers a friendly way to begin understanding and developing the feedback process regarding your speaking topics and techniques. What I found from this personal experience is that I began learning how to think on my feet and speak about any random topic quickly without second guessing myself. The more I learned this ability the stronger my speaking skills were becoming. The next thing I knew I was facilitating as a performance consultant with a large national bank and I was no longer afraid of speaking in public. I began using these skills more often and almost daily. Speaking now in public or in private feels more natural to me now but I would not have gained that knowledge and strength without embarking on the Toastmasters venture. I enjoy more than anything in the world is to teach others how to get over that same fear I once had. When you see others just as successful, that feeling becomes priceless!