“All great speakers where bad speakers at first.” – Emerson.
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Fear of public in front of a crowd is not a problem if you don’t plan to share anything. But a lot of us can clearly see the value of transmitting our knowledge verbally but struggle with stage anxiety or inability to communicate efficiently.
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The Lab Report – 014 – “Public Speaking”
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THE MISSION:
To combat my aversion towards public speaking I joined a speaking club, Toastmasters, with the goal of writing and presenting 10 speeches in front of a room full of people.
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SHORT TERM EFFECTS: ⭐️⭐️
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– People at the club was friendly and supportive. Seeing me maybe reminded them of of what a mess they where when they started out.
– it was dreadful the days before my speeches. I noticed myself wanting to practice all the time and I became irritable when I couldn’t.
– The day of the speech I couldn’t concentrate at work at all.
– The feeling after the speech was an endorphine high!
– I struggled in all aspects; picking subject, structure, gestures, delivery.
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THE PROCESS: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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– An endeavor like this demands a huge energy investment. It takes a lot of time to prepare a speech.
– The learning curve is enjoyable. For each speech you feel a noticeable improvement.
– There is advantages is to seeing yourself on video. How you imagine yourself acting and sounding are not always aligned with reality.
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LONG TERM EFFECTS: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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– Finally, after 10 speeches, I can see myself as someone who can stand in front a crowd. And it doesn’t make my stomach turn.
– I can communicate with more clarity, I use the tools I’ve learned to get, and keep, peoples attention to a greater degree than before.
– I’m less bothered about being in the center of attention.
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FINAL VERDICT: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Taking care of my anxiety around public speaking is one of the best decisions of my life. It’s benefits and the way it changes your self-perceptions spills out to other aspects of life. —
I still got ways to go, but it’s a start!
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⁉️What anxieties limits you? 🤔⁉️
More experiments right here!
BookLab by Bjorn 