Close your eyes and imagine:
- You are a fabulous speaker and communicator.
- You love sharing who you are and your ideas.
- You know the audience is “with” you when you speak.
- You can feel the meeting going really well.
- You sense the agreement from the whole room as you finish speaking.
Now open your eyes. Was that all just a dream? Yes—and no.
- Yes, it may be in your imagination.
- And no, because you truly have access to it.
- This is your potential.
Here’s why.
I’m a coach. Developing the potential in my clients is what I do on a daily basis. As a result, when I look into someone’s eyes, I don’t just see what is before me. I see all that they can be. In fact, I see them already being exactly where they are going to end up. Pretty cool, right?
Case in point: I recently worked with a client who came to me with solid confidence, but underdeveloped speaking skills. She could sense a disconnect between what she was doing and what she could be doing. It was invigorating to give her specific suggestions to guide her. It didn’t take long for her ability to communicate clearly to skyrocket. We both knew she had potential. Now, she’s living up to it.
What do you do if you don’t have access to a public speaking coach?
Coaches come in all forms, and many people who know and love you can help you find ways to communicate more clearly.
Public speaking is an exercise that is part mental and part physical. Athletes know that to improve their performance they have to cultivate the right attitude, and reinforce it by practicing and ratcheting up the reps.
The same is true for those who aspire to improve their public speaking abilities. The idea to keep in mind is this: You gotta think it, and you gotta practice it, so you that good communication skills become part of your muscle memory.
Remember this: Don’t let anyone psych you out. It continues to amaze and sadden me how severely others can tear us apart and shut us down. Sometimes we may not even realize that subtle negativity has seeped in and eaten away at our confidence.
The first step is to realize how phenomenal you already are!
Now stand up, take a deep breath, and unlock your potential:
- Identify someone who sees your potential. It could be you, a friend, a professional coach—or all three! Be really sure they are on your side—ask them what they see in you, and if you agree, enlist their guidance.
- Identify and reinforce the skills you have. You will need a lot of practice and repetition to reinforce what is working.
- Leave behind old ideas of who or what you thought you should be. Shed those restrictions and step into who you know you are. Some of those restrictions could be in the form of rules around how to speak, what to speak about, and whom to speak to. They might even be constraining your notion of what you should wear.
- Now, find a “sandbox,” any place you feel comfortable, and practice your speaking skills. Play, build, knock it down, and play again.
Your potential is right there waiting for you to develop it. Make room in your heart, mind, and life to be the best you possible.
Now go back to the top of this article and read those five affirmations again. It’s not just a dream. It’s your future self.
This article was originally posted on BeInkandescent.com in October 2014.
