Things I learned at a free workshop recently
Except for a brief moment in college, I have always loved public speaking. Need to quiet a crowd? Announce a raffle winner? Rattle off some announcements? I’m the one.
🎙 Being behind a (real or imagined) podium is intoxicating to me, and the work I get to do with Warmly is very much aligned with that.
📣 Lately, I’ve been exploring what it would look like to make public speaking my thing. Yes, my thing. What’s stopped me from doing this until now? The fear that others will get sick of my voice (if they aren’t already).
Against that (faulty) logic, I attended a free workshop for folks considering a public speaking career. What I walked away with I would have gladly paid money for but didn’t have to! Here are three of the most impactful insights I walked away with:
🥊 One. It’s not about being an expert – it’s about being a testament. People assume that you have to have the credentials, 20+ years of experience, and zero failures before you stand up in front of a crowd, but that’s not the case at all. If people come to you for advice or direction for things – you’re already a voice that people trust and listen to.
🥊 Two. Our greatest lessons often come from our hardest moments. Instead of hiding behind those moments (or pretending that they didn’t happen), be authentic about your experiences – the good, the bad, and especially the ugly. People are looking for inspiration from your lived experiences, not a cookie cutter picture of perfection.
🥊 Three. Your message is simple: this is your chance to be a storyteller and share the meaning you make out of life. Your experience doesn’t have to be one-of-a-kind. You don’t have to be the ONLY or the FIRST or the BEST. Those assumptions do not serve you here.
IN CONCLUSION
⚡️ Do away with playing the role of critic – You are now the c-suite. You are captain of the cheerleading squad, and from now on we only say “Yes Chef!”
💥 Amplify the way you make sense of your life (and the world around you) – including the most tragic of circumstances – you never know who might need to hear it.
🌱 Special thanks to Jess Ekstrom for creating & facilitating the Mic Drop Workshop. You reminded me to believe in myself, which is where it all begins.
