Is fear stopping you from living life to its fullest?
Close your eyes and picture this:
You’re a kid again. You’re in the third grade, and you’ve been dreading this day for weeks.
You don’t understand why people keep telling you to picture the audience in their underwear.
Your hand-written cue cards are stuffed in your pocket as you try to remember the words on the way to school. You’re resisting the urge to pull them out and read from them line by line.
The thought of your classmates – all 30 or so eyeballs – staring at you when it’s your turn to speak has you considering developing a sudden, unexpected case of the flu.
It was at that moment you unlocked a new fear – you were terrified of public speaking!
Did your stomach flip on you? Did your skin crawl? Some hated the spotlight then, and they still hate it now.
I bet it’s stopped them from doing a lot of things. Whether it’s public speaking, heights, or creepy crawlies – fear prevents us from living life to the fullest.
This is true for women especially.
I recently read a study out of Harvard. It suggested women avoid public speaking for fear of looking bad, sounding bad, appearing inexperienced, or not sounding confident.
It also suggested one of the number one things causing women to turn down speaking opportunities is the fear of appearing to grab too much attention.
I find this so interesting because, being a woman myself and having experienced this in my own career …
This is just a story we tell ourselves.
Now, in my mid to late 40s, I can attest this goes on in our heads in our 20s, 30s, and 40s. Our clients feel it in their 50s and 60s.
It’s hard to overcome the anxiety and fear of public speaking. Who wants to make a mistake and feel like they’ve failed?
With more experience in front of people, we become more and more confident in taking on bigger opportunities.
As for my clients, they tend to reach out to me in their 40s. It’s at this point they realize:
- It’s time to say yes
- It’s time to go for that promotion
- It’s time to go for that governance board
- It’s time to go for that presidential position
- It’s time to go for that conference talk
Don’t wait to take on those opportunities. Bet on yourself, and take that chance NOW.
You’re a rockstar.
There’s no reason why you can’t bring that same confidence to webinars, stages, Zoom meetings, leading your team, the boardroom, investor pitches, media interviews, and job interviews.
And we’re here to help.
