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Welcome to The Introverted Path!
Happy Thursday! Hope everyone has recovered from the Thanksgiving holiday and is back in the swing of things with your normal routine.
This week, I’ll be talking about public speaking.
Most people dread public speaking, but the stereotype is that introverts despise it even more.
This definitely used to be true for me — but I’ve found strategies to help me be confident when speaking in public.
Before we get started, I wanted to share another newsletter for introverts that I’ve enjoyed reading lately:
A message from The Introverted Networker. Everyone tells you to network, but no one tells you how. And introverts are especially hesitant to network. That's why I love The Introverted Networker. It's a weekly newsletter that shares networking tips for introverts. Join more than 1300 introverts who subscribe. Join for $0 here.
In today’s email:
Why public speaking is important
Strategies to be confident
Links to other content I enjoyed this week
Let’s dive in 🤙
Public Speaking
In one of my first jobs out of college, I was a project manager for a large software implementation at a health system.
There were 100+ team members contributing over the course of 2 years.
Every month, there was an executive meeting to talk through progress and any issues we had.
The same 3 executives from my company always attended these meetings.
But then, 1 of them wasn’t able to attend.
They needed someone to attend that was close to the project and could speak to what had been going on.
So without many options, they asked me to attend.
I was probably 25 years old at the time and was scared shitless.
But then a few minutes into the meeting, I realized I didn’t need to be.
The topic we were discussing was what I lived and breathed every day. As the project manager, I knew all the details of what had been going on.
Plus, I had taken plenty of time to get all my thoughts and talking points in order ahead of time.
I addressed each question, spoke up when I needed to, and gained confidence with each word.
And then guess what happened?
I did so well that I was invited back for every meeting after that.
Which leads me to my #1 tip for public speaking:
Tips for public speaking
1. Over prepare
The best thing you can do to feel confident when speaking in public is know the material you are speaking about inside and out.
As introverts, this is where we can really shine. This portion is completely within our control.
Put in the effort before presenting to save yourself from anxiety later on.
Anticipate any questions that may be asked and have a plan to respond to those. Jot down a rough outline of the key things you want to hit that you can reference just in case you lose your spot.
2. Know your audience
Who will you be speaking to? Do they need a summary or do they need to get in the weeds? How many people will be listening? Do you want to encourage conversation and questions? Can you pick spots to insert humor to lighten the mood?
These are all important things to think through. By understanding your audience, you can cater your speech to them.
People have short attention spans. The first few minutes are the most important.
Think through how you can ensure they walk away with at least one big takeaway you want them to have.
3. Practice
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
Are there opportunities at work, social activities, or within your community you can volunteer to speak?
Throughout my work career, there have been numerous times where we needed someone to speak on a topic.
Maybe you step up to the plate. Practice being comfortable speaking in public while gaining some credibility at work.
4. Recharge beforehand!
Over here at The Introverted path, we love talking about recharging.
Typically, we think about recharging after social situations. But making sure you are recharged prior to events is equally as important.
Plan a quiet night at home the night before public speaking. Cook one of your favorite meals, watch your favorite show, and make sure you get plenty of sleep.
Personally — any time I have a big event such as a presentation, I try to work out in the morning beforehand.
Something about sweating and feeling accomplished before the day even starts makes me feel more confident in myself.
My thoughts 💭
Did you know that glossophobia is the fear of public speaking, and not someone who is extremely afraid of shiny things? Who would have thought.
Anyways, it is estimated 75% of people have some form of glossophobia, making it the most common phobia.
So just like with any other fear we may have, we aren’t alone.
The only way to conquer these types of fears is to push outside of our comfort zone and put ourselves out there.
Links that I enjoyed this week 💥
That’s it for today - hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter!
Best,
BG