Speaking in front of a crowd of has always terrified me. Which is weird because I’m a very talkative person. And I’m serious when I say that. When I first started dating my fiancé, he used to tell me, “damn, you talk a lot” all of the time. In the beginning, I would take offense to it. Now, it’s to a point that he thinks something is wrong with me if I’m not talking. Go figure.
All of that talking though, never made me feel comfortable about speaking in front of people. For example, one time we were driving through the Canadian border from New York and got stopped by the police at the border. They simply asked for my birthday. I stammered and stuttered on that question so much that they ended up making us get out of the car for a full inspection. Because I was “acting suspicious”. The crowd of policemen made me so nervous that I couldn’t even remember my birthday.
So, imagine how I felt when the curator of the Destined By Design exhibit asked me to be on the panel. Me? Talking on a panel in front of a crowd? I don’t know about that. Of course that wasn’t my reply when she asked. I fearlessy responded, “I’d love to!”
Now that I accepted the invite, I had no choice but to make it happen. That’s actually how I conquer my fears. I say, “yes” to everything, no matter how fearful I am. Because if I don’t, how will I know what I can do? Nothing pushes you past fear more than biting the bullet and jumping in…head first.
When the day finally arrives; I’m actually feeling good about everything. Although, I’m sure the glass of saki helped.
I put on the outfit I made to wear from the event and headed to the event.
After the moderator introduced the designers; the questions came rolling in.
“What inspired your designs?”
“What was the first thing you ever made as a designer?”
“If you can recommend only one style of dress; what style would it be?”
My answers rolled off my tongue like I do this for a living. Things went so great that I was kind of disappointed that it was over.
Here is what I learned about speaking in public
#1 Be Confident – If you don’t believe in yourself and what you’re saying, no one else will.
#2 Be Yourself – The great part of being you is that you are you and no one can be you. Everyone has a different story. Don’t try to use words you wouldn’t normally use. Don’t address topics that you don’t really know anything about. Be genuine. Most people can see through the fakeness. Plus, who the hell wants to be fake anyway??
#3 Most People Are Nice – One of my things about speaking in public is that I pondered whether or not people will be nice to me. Are they gonna say mean things? Or ask shady questions? Honestly, I don’t take nasty people. I just don’t. So, being ready to “check someone back” has always been in the back of my mind. But I’ve found that most people are nice and welcoming. Leave the preconceived notions about people at home.
Since the event, I’ve been asked to be on another panel during DreamWeek 2020 in San Antonio. Guessing that means it went pretty good, huh??
What about you? Have you ever done any public speaking? If so, what tips do you use? Do you find my tips helpful?? Let me know in the comments…
Stay Fearless 💋
