Public Speaking

When I was 14 years old, I gave my first real public address. My mother was going through the process of completing her National Board Certification, a long and grueling process, as any teacher who has gone through the process will attest. And I was asked to speak at the final ceremony from my own perspective, what it was like to watch my mother go through this process.

Speaking in front of former Washington Governor Gary Locke

Former Washington State Governor Gary Locke was present for the ceremony, as well as an entire room of teachers, so it was a great honor to speak.

I was excited and I was nervous as hell.

I wore my dad’s sport jacket, which was probably three sizes too big for me, but helped me fill a larger presence than my scrawny self ever could. I tied my long hair back, and wore my reading glasses. I felt this made me look more professional rather than like a rock star wannabe, and calmed me down, because when I looked out into the crowd, I couldn’t see a damn thing, it was just a blur. This was a trick I used many times as I gave presentations in high school and my undergraduate and helped me to maintain eye contact with the crowd without fear.

I had my note cards, took the podium, and was ready to go. And then as we all fear in public speaking, my mind went blank. But I quickly reviewed my note cards, and started to speak. Early in the address, I must have said something funny, because I heard laughter. And it wasn’t so much what I was saying so much as my timing and delivery. I immediately capitalized on this, and perhaps exhausted it, but from that moment on, I referred back to that comment and used it as the theme for the entire speech. Soon I wasn’t even looking at the note cards, I was speaking from the heart … I think.

To this day, when I get up on stage, I have no idea what will come out, or what I will say. I have an idea, and when I have time I may even rehearse to get the general outline. I definitely leverage my raw passion and enthusiasm to carry the speech, which can work—when the delivery is dull, what’s the point? If you can present something that may seem dull and make it exciting, make a story, or tell why it matters, then you have something. I always admired professors that had this talent.

I will admit that even my shotgun blast approach in which the energy is dispersed in a large array needs focus. Guy Kawasaki in his outstanding book The Art of the Start recommends practicing 25 times before a speech that is committed to memory starts to sound natural and spontaneous, and I believe him. Once you know the material this well, you can deviate from the message, play with the language, and come back to it.

Whether you are a business professional pitching an idea, a teacher giving a lecture to students, in a book club or bible study and want to express your ideas more clearly, or looking for work and want to nail the interview, everyone needs public speaking. Everyone must be able to communicate their ideas clearly if they want to be understood.

It takes practice to get comfortable speaking in public. I suggest taking every opportunity you have to hone your skills. One excellent resources open to all of us is Toastmasters. You have the opportunity to work on different aspects of public speaking in front of people you have come to know. You get positive feedback and learn to speak to a group of people in a low-stakes setting. I recommend that you go to your local Toastmasters. Find a location near you here.

Turning Nervous Energy into Performance Energy

In school, when the class would go around the room and introduce themselves, I would panic as I tried to think of what to say that would explain who I was and make me sound interesting. Fear would set in, and by the time it got to the person before me, my heart would be pounding so quickly and loudly that I swear the entire class could hear it.

Once it was my turn to speak, my mind would be a complete blank, and I would blurt out something — I have no idea what I would say — but probably not what I had been planning.

I think a lot of people have very similar first experiences with public speaking, which probably accounts for a lot of the nerves that we have as we get older and speak to groups that feel even less comfortable than that circle of kids.

Now I can usually speak with confidence, and most people wouldn't suspect that I still have these moments of nervousness, but this is because I have worked hard at turning my nervous energy into performance energy.

Here are a few things that I do:

• Practice—a lot

Muscle memory will take over. That’s not to say you run on autopilot, but some of the components you won’t have to worry about as much.

I rely on muscle memory to some extent when I climb a route, or play a music show, or speak in public.

During a performance there are too many things to take in at once and success is more likely when 95% of the work is done behind the scenes, before the day of the event. Refer to the blog post Always Training.

Practice helps you learn to manage nervous energy when the environment is comfortable and safe, so that when it does count, your anxiety doesn’t overtake you.

• Creative Visualization

The mind is a powerful tool. If you have to rehearse something, and you don’t have the ability to do a live run-through, use creative visualization. See yourself successfully accomplishing your goal, run through it in your mind several times.

This technique has allowed me to memorize hundreds of moves on a climbing route as well as the flow and language of a speech from the comfort of my own couch.

• Pre-game Routine

Music is a part of my pre-game routine. There have been times when I need to get pumped up, so I’ll listen to something like Boston; when I need to calm down I listen to Beethoven’s 7th symphony, 2nd movement.

Find something that suits you, something that works for the situation you will be facing.

In climbing I have a ritual that I go through before I start a route: tie the rope, put my shoes, chalk my hands, shake out my arms to loosen up, inhale a few times, and remind myself to breath.

The pre-game routine should help you to clear you mind and focus on the action to come.

• Remember to Breathe

This seems like a no brainer, but you would be surprised how often we forget to breathe. Performance drops when you brain and muscles aren’t getting enough oxygen. So take a nice big breath, loosen up, and get going.

Next week I will look at the power of public speaking and some helpful tips to overcome those fears.

The Dream of the Week as Lifestyle Design

Over the summer, I read (well, let's be honest here, I listened to it on CD) The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris. In it, he shares many useful tricks that he employed so that he could afford the experiences that he wanted in life — he calls this concept Lifestyle Design. I like that term. So often we put off experiences and dreams because we are waiting for the right moment or the right amount of money in the bank. He suggests that there are many ingenious ways around the barriers that we put up.

As I read, I thought  to myself how similar that this was to my own Dream of the Week.  His approach focused on liberating yourself from a location-based job, so that you could go out and do whatever it is that you want to experience. He likes to travel and adventure with his free time.

While the Dream of the Week does not, for me, mean having no obligations at home or at work, it does mean taking another look at those obligations and finding ways within them to achieve your dream. Living your dream isn't only for the untethered. My dreams are about making my home and family life better, making government better, and motivating other people to get out there and do what excites them. But the idea is essentially the same.

The Four Hour Work Week does a good job at breaking down tangible barriers such as time or money or location, but it doesn't address many of the emotional barriers that people have, such as why people don't do what they have always wanted to do. Why do people panic? or give up? What drives or motivates people to do what they do? He wasn't attempting to suggest any deep meaning in what he does, he simply does it and does it exceptionally well. It was in that action-oriented approach that I see the similarities.

If you want to get out and start doing your Dream of the Week, this book is a great resource as you start to address the tangible barriers. In the weeks ahead I'll talk about barriers both tangible and emotional and discuss ways of overcoming them. What barriers are you facing right now?