bit of information won’t disappear, but
even if it does, you’ve built the big picture into your brain, and recall is easier.
2It’s not about you—really. Sara Canaday, an Austin, Texas- based NSA speaker, shares “I
uber-prepare for each and every
keynote. However, a few days before an
event, I will consciously switch my focus
from ‘me’ to ‘them.’ I become mindful
of how I need to shift away from my
‘performance’ to their ‘experience.’ This
preparation and my “connected” mind-
set helps to boost my confidence.”
True, there is a reason you’re speak-
ing. You’re a successful subject matter
expert, well-networked or have an
experience or story that will shift the
perspective of the audience.
It’s nothing without your passion
for the topic.
Passion comes down to a combination of emotion and knowledge. Imagine
a light bulb. Everything you know about
your topic gets contained within the
glass bulb, and your emotion is the filament. Each part is quite different but the
two are necessary to create illumination.
Mark Twain once said there are two kinds of speak- ers: those who get nerv- ous and those who are liars. Do you get the butterflies in your mid-section before or
during your presentation? Or is it a
lump in the throat doesn’t go away no
matter how much water you drink? For
you, the nerves might be an everyday
occurrence or, like many professional
speakers, you’re working on getting
better at channeling that adrenalin into
a way that is constructive and keeps
your edge.
Want to boost your confidence? There
are steps you can take, but it’s more than
preparation. For example, have you ever
accepted a speaking engagement for a
topic that is not your expertise? Or it’s
the big one—your largest audience ever.
The familiar knot forms in your stomach
as your brain spins around the words,
“Oh, no, what have I done?”
There’s no point in fighting it. Fear is
part of the process. The question is:
Where does it fit in the overall construc-
tion of a successful speech? More impor-
tant, how can you keep that fear from
undermining your self-esteem when you
need to show up at your best?
1Deep dive in your topic, and then go deeper. You’re smart. Prepare well and your head is in
the game. Fail to have a deep under-
standing of your topic and your neurons
fire up to declare “Fear lives here.”
As we take on new information and
repeat it, other pathways start to form
in deeper, more reflexive parts of the
brain. Remember the first day of your
first job, when you struggled with one
of the dozen tasks you could now do
without thinking? So, the more you
prepare, the easier it is to access all that
you know. Chances are that one little
AccelerAte Your
By eLizaBeth MCCorMiCK
