SPEAKING IN PUBLIC
Recently I was invited (via We Blog North) to a workshop on Confidence and Presentation Skills by the Public Speaking Academy. As someone who enjoys public speaking – In fact, it’s something I want to do more of this year, I thought it would be good to go along. I believe you can always improve and learn so I headed to the event eager to pick up some more skills!
The morning started with a discussion in small groups about why we want to get better at public speaking, what holds us back and how life would be different if we moved past these blocks. I must admit I wasn’t expecting things to get so deep so quickly!
Although, it’s like anything once you know your why then you are more likely want to push through it.
To kick things off, we looked at why we wanted to improve at public speaking, what’s holding us back and what we think life would be like if we uncovered those blocks. I must admit I didn’t expect things to get so deep so quickly but it was interesting to explore this and listen to others.
Speaking in Public
Next, two members of the group were asked to speak about something important to them. They then went away and had a coaching session coming back and doing an even better job at telling their story. It just goes to show how a little bit of coaching and some tips can really make a difference.
For me, I am most confident in speaking about topics I know and love. Last year I spoke at a bloggers conference in London, this was such an enjoyable experience because as you can see from The Content Edit topics and my online course, Trigger Your Blog, I love to talk about blogging!
Next week, I am speaking at another event about my business journey and again I am looking forward to sharing and giving others some tips to help them.
What I am not confident about is speaking when I am put on the spot. During the workshop, we were split into two groups and formed circles. We then had to start a story and each person jump in and continue the tale. For me, this was challenging as I had to think quickly on my feet.
It is good to be pushed out of your comfort zone and it turned in to an enjoyable experience!
The Public Speaking Academy workshop was a fun morning and I would recommend it if you are wanting to grow and improve your own public speaking skills. These can be for formal presentations, networking or simply being more confident at work or with friends.
CAROLINE TOWERS
Caroline Towers is a blogger, blogging educator & multi-passionate business owner. She is the founder of The Content Edit. In her spare time she loves to travel, go to the movies, watch sport & drink prosecco!
