What Story Are You Telling Yourself? (and is it Ruining Your Chances for Speaking Success?)
When you’re asked about public speaking, is your knee-jerk reaction to say “I hate public speaking. I am just NO good at that”? Have you already decided what you’re good — or not good — at, and convince yourself that it’s the truth?
What do you do when you have a skill, talent or expertise that should be shared, but you keep telling yourself that you can’t communicate it properly because you’re just no good at public speaking?
If this sounds like the conversation that you have with YOURSELF every so often, then check out this quick video with some tips and ideas of how you can change that mindset, change your story, and set yourself up for speaking success.
(transcript of full video below)
Questions? Comments? Email me and let’s talk about it!
Transcript:
Do you sabotage the potential for your success? Do you ever tell yourself that you’re not good at things that you may never have tried? Last week I was having a conversation with a fairly new colleague of mine, and she asked me, “What is it that you do, Suzannah?” And when I told her that I teach people how to be better at public speaking, how to give better presentations, and be more compelling in front of an audience, she said to me, “Oh, public speaking? I hate that stuff. I am NO good at that.”
And I thought to myself, “Isn’t that funny, because this person is such a vibrant, enthusiastic, friendly person. Is it possible that she’s TELLING herself that she’s no good at public speaking, and she’s TELLING herself that she could never do it, and she’s TELLING herself that she hates it, when in fact, all she needed to do was try it. And in fact, all she needed to do is to put in place a few essential steps to make it easier.
The problem is, if you’re going to keep telling yourself the story of what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, then you may never want to develop that skill. The real problem is becoming when you have a skill that can be shared with an audience, you have a talent or expertise that you’re willingly holding back, just because you keep telling yourself that you’re simply not good at it.
If you’re going to keep telling yourself the story of what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, then you may never want to develop that skill. Share on XThis is a story that we may keep repeating to in our heads, and it’s a story that we can change. We don’t have to continue telling that story. When it comes to public speaking, sometimes we just need to put a few elements in place, go through a specific structure, or understand what key elements need to be in your presentation in order to be a real success. At the same time, if we stop focusing on ourselves, and how WE feel in front of an audience, and instead focus on the audience; what is it that THEY need to hear, and what value can we bring to THEM. That can be enough to completely shift your mindset, and shift your story.
So I ask you, please be mindful of the story that you tell yourself, and be mindful if you’re telling yourself that you’re not good at something that the greater world may need to hear from you, and that the greater world can learn from you. It’s a shame to keep it within yourself. So change your story, and tell yourself that you CAN!
Please be mindful of the story that you tell yourself, and be mindful if you’re telling yourself that you’re not good at something that the greater world may need to hear from you, and that the greater world can learn from you. Share on XMy name is Suzannah Baum. If you’d like to get in touch to talk about how we can change your story, and how we could work together to create audience-centric presentations that will allow you to step out and shine your unique expertise and your unique value and share that with the world, then let’s get in touch.
