Happy Friday

Care to start the last day of the week with a story?

The first time I spoke in public was in kindergarten. We had end-of-year or seasonal celebrations (like Christmas and Easter) where all the children were asked to recite a poem, sing a song, etc.

I was told that at first, I couldn't do so without my teacher holding me. I needed to feel safe before I shared my 'talents' with the audience. However, by the end of kindergarten, not only was I comfortable doing it on my own, but I knew everyone else's poem or song and I would recite or sing it with them, for them, over them and everything in between. Not fair play, I know...

Today I absolutely love public speaking. Don't get me wrong, I still get nervous before a big speech or presentation, but I use those emotions to my advantage and I'm told I do a pretty good job at it - here's a testimonial about it from my LinkedIn profile.

I'm not sharing this to brag. That's not my style. I'm sharing it to demonstrate that progress is possible when you actively work toward it. I hone my skills every time I film a video for my Youtube channel and every time I deliver a new presentation or speech.

However, it wouldn't be fair to hide the fact that I also took public speaking courses which cost me a pretty penny. If your budget doesn't allow for that at the moment, I'd like to offer an alternative.

Earlier this week I shared a very useful conversation I had with public speaking expert Rosemary Ravinal. In the latest episode of 🎙️Coaching for a Living, we talked about:

• The myth that public speaking is our biggest fear as humans
• How coaches can overcome the fear of speaking in public
• How to use stories to capture attention
• Body language and what to do with our hands
• Communication in the digital world

Here's a video extract that covers some of the points above, or you can follow this link to listen to the full podcast episode.

How do you feel about speaking in public? Do you love it, dread it, or are you somewhere in between? Let me know by replying to this email.

If you gave the video a watch and/or the podcast a listen, I hope it was helpful and stay tuned because there is a lot more coming your way.

Take care and speak soon,

Alisa