This post explains everything you need to know on how to speak with confidence, whether as an MC, a host, or just speaking in front of people. We will talk about the ins and outs of confidence, how to gain them, as well as some insider tips and tricks from one of the best presenter in the industry.
Table of Contents
- First off, what is confidence?
- Why is confidence important when it comes to speaking?
- How to speak with confidence?
- What is a Confidence Mentor?
- Why find a Confidence Mentor?
- How can a Confidence Mentor help you?
- What you will need before your first confidence mentorship program
- What you can get from a confidence mentorship program
- Final thoughts
First off, what is confidence?
Confidence is the belief in one’s own powers, ability to see a task through and trust in oneself. A feeling of assurance or a sense of trust in something yet to happen.
Why is it important when it comes to speaking?
Before you speak, you must ask yourself why you are speaking. If you are speaking for yourself, then not much confidence is needed. But if you seek to make an influence, inspire change or get a message across to motivate then confidence is essential when it comes to speaking.
In order to promote any change, create an influence or inspire, you MUST belief that you possess that ability in self before giving it outward. That’s why it is essential to learn this skill for speaking.
There is so much talk about confidence and why you need it to have influence or become an effective leader. But why do YOU need it?
Confidence is very important because to have any type of influence whether through a blog, online call, classroom or conference room, you need people to believe in what you say by how you say it. But what’s more important, having self-confidence doesn’t just benefit others, it benefit you as well!
Having self-confidence or belief in oneself allows you to evolve towards a growth mindset in a situation, helps you to take more calculated risks, grow your potential as you step outside of your comfort zone and potentially allow you to grow exponentially in your personal life, within relationships or professionally. That’s why confidence is important!
How to speak with confidence?
Guide to Becoming a Great Presenter Whether You Are a Shy or an Experienced Speaker (For a more thorough guide, check our my eBook)
1. Set the Perspective and Look at the Big Picture
Generally, people are afraid of public speaking because of the ‘potentiality’ of rejection. It’s normal for us social animals to want to feel a part of a larger group (for safety and emotional support) which is linked to our innate survival. We are no longer living in societies where we rely on others to hunt animals for us or live in such danger of rejection that we could become exiled from our social groups.
The fear of public speaking now comes down to the fear of potential rejection, fear or judgment or the death of one’s ego. And it’s never that extreme. Instead of focusing on the potential fears, I want you to focus on the opposite… which is compassion.
The audience are more compassionate and friendly than you imagined and their judgments belongs to them. It is not a target on who you are as a persona and not an attack on your self-image (ego).
Activity #1 – Write down your fears vs goals.
2. Know Your Audience before Deciding on the Focus of Your Speech
Most people make the mistake of writing too much about themselves, what they want to share and completely forgot that the audience don’t care that much about you BUT what you can give them!
Your audience need to know that your speech/talk is intended for them and not for you to boost your own ego or to give you a chance to hear yourself talk. I know this is very direct but I have seen too many of these connecting killers where the speaker spend so much time preparing the speech but end up having no one listening or retaining your sharing.
If no one retains your message or is inspired, then it is beside the point to make a speech.
Activity #2 – Research your audience and understand what motivates them.
3. Set An Intention = Have a Clear Message that You Want Your Audience to Gain/Learn From
Most speeches are not organized simply or easy to understand enough for the masses to understand because it may be missing the context, a clear perspective or a clear message. You want your audience to leave the room with one clear message that they gained from your speech.
What is it?
What is the purpose of your speech?
What do you wish for your audience to take away from your speech/talk?
Activity #3 – Reflect on the above 3 questions and write them down
4. Prepare Your Speech and Let Others Proofread Them (AND welcome their feedback!)
To improve in anything, it’s a process. It’s about being open to learning, accepting our areas that needs improving and listening to feedback. It’s time too start writing everything down (get 2 drafts in minimum) and then get someone you like to proofread it. Now this is the important part…LISTEN and TRY to accept the critique. This is the hardest part.
Again…it’s not about you. It’s the message you are gifting to others and how you do it that is the key. You want your audience to retain, receive and be inspired.
Activity #4 – Start writing your speech/talk and get 2 others to proofread it for you while you present it to them in-person (not online)
5. Record Your Speech/Talk
Now it’s time to observe how you sound, look, move and see if you enjoy what you see. If not, this is time to speak with a trusted friend, talk to a mentor or hire a coach. Most people are not professional presenters or speakers so if you want to improve exponentially to enhance your success, it’s good to look into hiring a Presenter Coach or Public Speaking Coach.
Activity #5 – Use your smart phone and under good-lighting and quiet space, record your speech and remember most speeches or talks should be no longer than 20 minutes. Preferably 10-12 minutes now is good for inspiring change but can be longer for informative speeches.
Repeat Step #4 & #5
6. Presentation – How You Present is More Important Than What You Say
This is the part of your speech/talk where you need to ask someone who you consider to be a very competent speaker or where you hire a coach.
This part requires experience and is not something you can do by watching YouTube or TikTok. There is a unique version of you that only YOU can share with the world. A coach can help bring that out in you.
7. Gift Your Message to the Audience
Connect before sharing and throughout. Another common mistake people make is spend 100% of the time writing the script, presenting the script, stay only in their heads and don’t connect while presenting the speech.
It’s not only about what you say but more importantly how you present it. In this world where people can lose focus within 1 second and they can pick up their phones, its more important than ever to keep people’s focus. How you do that will be the difference between “Huh what did he/she say? to Wow, what an amazing and memorable presentation!”
Need help? Connect with us and we’ll help you connect with your audience! 😉
(Please focus on this part. Very important to give them as many tips as you can. You can divide the content into different points like this one: https://forge.medium.com/the-shy-persons-guide-to-confidently-speaking-in-public-137859abbcef)
What is a confidence mentor?
A Confidence Mentor is someone who can see your strength and can bring it out in you before you realize this within your self. A Confidence Mentor is a person who helps guide you towards your goals and shine light when you see only darkness.
I am doing just fine in life. Why should you bother finding a confidence mentor?
For anyone wanting to be successful, they must also be willing to try and then take action towards that goal/dream.
Yes you may be doing perfectly fine but if you’re here reading our blog, then perhaps this is meant for you! You are meant to read this as everyone always has areas of improvements and if only you are willing, you may benefit more than you think.
Most people feel confident or content with their lives but they also wonder why they are not getting that position, making more money or getting more challenging roles that brings them a sense of fulfillment. Most people do not take a proactive approach to better themselves until life hits them with some type of misfortune, sense of unfairness or lost of opportunity. If you wait until this feeling comes, then NOW is the time to take action instead of waiting to miss out on a future opportunity.
Getting a Confidence Mentor will help you to take control of your destiny by creating opportunities instead of waiting for them to come. Having confidence will lead to more comfort in speaking up, sharing your talents or creating the influence so others will want to follow you.
I want to grow but I don’t know how. How can a confidence mentor help you?
Knowing that you want to grow is a wonderful place to start. That means you are eager. With motivation comes the time for growth.
With the right intentions and the willingness to work towards your goals whether it is opening a business, asking for that raise, starting your podcast or speaking confidently in that presentation, we are here to guide you.
We will be asking you various questions about your motivations, goals as well as past challenges to see where your potential block is. And when we locate those block(s) through mind mapping, mirroring and shadow work, we will help guide you (through our questioning) towards solutions that you would have come up with on your own. It is often hard to see ourselves so you need someone else with more experience to help walk along side you to give you support.
I need help to speak more confidently before I make my presentation or my speech, how can a Confidence Mentor help me?
You have come to the right place because Able is a communication expert who has worked on all types of media such as News Presenting, TV Show Hosting, Emceeing (MC), Acting, Voice-Over and now as a Presenter & Communication Coach.
She will first need to understand what type of a speaker you are most comfortable to be and she will adapt her knowledge having worked in the mass communication and performing arts field for over 16 years to help you feel confident in your own skin.
We can review your written script/speech so it connect better with your audience (as we always have to adapt our styles to the audience), work on how you sound such as your pace, tones, volume and timbre or work on your body language and facial expressions. If you are confident in those areas, then we can work on your overall speech and see how engaging you are by having you present your full speech as Able critique you while acting as your audience.
It is not about what you say but how you say it. And always remember to engage the audience!
Learn More About Our Confidence Mentorship Program Here
What You Will Need Before Your First Confidence Mentorship
Here is what you will need before you do the confidence mentorship:
- Open mind
- Open Heart
- Willingness to try
- Ready to have your views challenged
- Homework assigned by Coaches such as journaling, social experiments, and videotaping
- Be open to tasks assigned which will test your emotional intelligence
- A possibility that this program might change how you see yourself
What You Can Get From Our Confidence Mentorship Program?
You will get:
- Encouragement
- Life experience
- Insights into other perspectives
- Growing Confidence
- Stories of failures and successes
- Growing mindset
- 1-on-1 Time with Able Wanamakok
- Introspection
- Buddhist Philosophy on personal development
- Personal Experience (this can only be gained if you have gone through it because knowing an orange doesn’t mean you know how it tastes)
- 9. Connections (depending on the eagerness of the interviewee, tips on CV/resume will be shared and possibly connections)
- 10. 60-90 minutes of 1-on-1 time with Able Wanamakok
Related Posts: How to Understand Yourself and Master Self-Awareness
Final Thoughts
It’s all about your mindset. If you have a positive attitude, everything else is just a work in progress.
What are you waiting for? Hoping and dreaming that you will do well is not the same as practicing. Practice does make for a higher chance of finally speaking with confidence so start your Confidence Mentorship program with us!
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