SHOW NOTES

Amplify with Jess is produced by Earfluence and brought to you by Mic Drop Workshop.

TRANSCRIPT

Jess – 00:00:02:

Welcome to Amplify with Jess Ekstrom, a show designed to help women get out of their head and into their zone of influence. Happy Monday, everyone. Here’s some food for thought to start your week. Okay, did you know that more people fear public speaking than they fear sharks, which is absolutely crazy to me. I am on a mission to help more women get confident at public speaking through my company Mic Drop Workshop. So today I wanted to give you three tips on how to get better and more comfortable and confident as a public speaker. So the first tip I call the difference between being a lighthouse speaker and being a spotlight speaker. Oftentimes when we get nervous to speak, it’s not because we might go up there and crash and burn, or it’s not because we think that the mic’s gonna stop working or any of those things. Usually it’s because we are putting too much time and attention on what the audience will think of us and we wanna be perfect, rather than how we’re gonna help the audience. So if we can make this mindset shift between being a spotlight to a lighthouse, this can help not only with our nerves when it comes to public speaking, but also with our delivery and with the value that we bring. Okay, so here’s how it goes. So when we’re a spotlight speaker, we go up there and the light is on us. We’re like, I gotta look good, I gotta do good, I want everyone tweeting about how amazing I am and how much I helped them, and I need to hit this out of the park. I want everyone to know that I’m not just a spotlight speaker, I want everyone to love me. We are putting the spotlight on ourselves and hoping that the perception that we’re getting from the audience is positive. The reality is we can’t control what everyone thinks and believes. One person might think that you are the best thing ever and the other person might be like, meh. So that’s out of our control. But what we can control is how we wanna deliver value to the audience. So that’s the change that we’re looking for here. So we’re gonna take that light as a spotlight and boop! Shift it right onto the audience as a lighthouse. So a lighthouse isn’t shining the light on themselves, they’re shining it out to guide other people and that’s what we wanna do as a speaker. We wanna be a guide. So instead of going up there and thinking, I want to look good. I want to do good. I want to be perfect. Get up there and say, how can I help the audience be 1% better than before they walked in the room? Or how can I articulate the transformation that I want to provide? So going up there as like a giver and a helper instead of like, I need to be perfect is a great tip and a good mindset shift to help ease your nerves and help you become a more effective public speaker. The other thing that can help really ease your nerves is this mantra that I want you to think about right before you have to speak or lead a meeting or do whatever it is. I have an uncanny ability to think on my feet. Boom, that’s it. I have an uncanny ability to think on my feet because I’m sure I could ask you, what are you afraid of going up there and speaking? Well, what if someone heckles me from the audience? Okay, what if? What would you do about that? Well, what if the power goes out? Okay, what if it does? What would you do about that? What if I forget what I’m saying in mid-sentence? Okay, what would you do about that? I know so often, and it’s funny because I’m the author of Chasing the Bright Side, which is about optimism. And so people think I’m just this, you know, positive all the time person, but really sometimes optimism is about understanding what could go wrong. So that way you can come up with solutions and have the confidence that you know that you will always make it right. So understand that no matter what happens, you have an uncanny ability to think on your feet. And if you even want a little action item or takeaway from this, write down everything that you think could go wrong with your next speaking opportunity and then what you would do about it. The last tip that I want to give you on how to be a more confident public speaker is the realization that the audience is on your side. The audience wants you to win. Whoever came up with picture everyone in their underwear. I have no idea where that came from because that would only distract me so much. But sometimes we think like, oh, the audience is just sitting there judging me, taking notes about everything I did wrong or the audience wants me to trip and fall. Understand that the audience wants you to win. They are on your side. So another mindset shift you could have when you go up to speak, whether it’s to one person, a room full of 12 people or a room of 12,000 people is imagine that they are all your friends and they’re like, yes, she’s going to crush this because that just eases the nerves and shifts you from trying to impress. People to talking to them. That’s what people want is authentic storytelling with key takeaways. So I hope that this is helpful for you. Next time you have a speaking opportunity and remember speaking can be the one or speaking can be the many. Remember to be a lighthouse speaker, not a spotlight speaker. Remember that you have an uncanny ability to think on your feet and remember that the audience is on your side. Thanks for listening to Amplify. If you are a fan of the show, show us some podcast love by giving us a rating and review. And give us a follow @micdropworkshop and @jessekstrom. Coming up on Amplify.

Speaker 1 – 00:05:53:

There was kind of this lane that I could be in and somewhat own because no one’s really talking about the pizzazz that comes with being a little bit more, you know, a little bit more on the authentic side, a little bit more on the present side, on all of these elements of relatability that I talk about that just change our relationships and really create this potential for growth, whether it be financial growth in the business world or personal growth because of your personal relationships.

Jess – 00:06:21:

This episode was edited and produced by Earfluence. And I’m Jess Ekstrom, your host. Remember that you deserve the biggest stage. So let’s find out how to get you there. I’ll see you again soon.