Stop Performing and Start Communicating.

All Speaking is Public Speaking. 

Most people can start or join a conversation without a second thought. We engage with ease. We may be witty, serious, telling a story, or sharing information. These light, everyday conversations rarely make us feel anxious or nervous. Why? Because we don’t think the other person / people is there to evaluate us or judge our skill level. We know we are simply expressing our thoughts. We call this communication.

However, when asked to take on a role where we feel we will be in the spotlight, we become nervous and unsure of themselves—some even experience real fear.

This happens we lose sight of the fact that we are still communicating, and instead, we focus on performing.

Suddenly, we believe we need specific skills.

We tell ourselves that our audience/listeners are our judges waiting to evaluate us.

We tell themselves to abandon our natural manner of communicating and move into Public Speaking mode. We start performing the role of being a Public Speaker and immediately our anxiety soars.

To be an engaging public speaker, you need to turn off the Performance switch and turn on the Communication switch.

Every time you are speaking to a group of people, focus on sharing your knowledge and presenting your ideas. Trust that your audience/listeners are eager to hear what you have to say. 

If you can speak authentically to one person, you can speak effectively to any number of listeners.