Public Speaking – The (ugly) truth about my TEDx talk
In this post I share a few of the screw ups I made before and during my TEDx talk last year.
Public speaking – we all make mistakes. Even a speaking coach!
I know that most people don’t like to air their dirty linen in public but, I’ve created my vlog so you can learn…both from what I know to be best practice, and also from my mistakes.
So how could I NOT share the goss behind my TEDx? The blunders I made, the silly decisions, and my efforts to put things right.
It’s a longish video so go ahead and watch it as I’m not even going to attempt to write a full summary here.
Public speaking – what I learned from my TEDx talk
Here are some of the main things I learned from my experience. Watch the video to find out why I make these recommendations.
- Avoid changing your talk at the very last minute
- If you take a key ingredient out of your talk, make sure you understand the implications
- When the talk organiser gives you instructions, FOLLOW THEM or at least, know WHY those instructions were provided
- Sometimes it makes sense to stop your talk, go back to the beginning and give it another go
- Sometimes, if you screw up, all is not lost. But try not to screw up if you can avoid it. Duh, of course!!
And here’s the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6q0BOKAyC4
Watching it back (I was SO disappointed with myself that it took me 2 months before I could watch it back in full) it sounds a bit self indulgent to me.
Public speaking – personal story vs self indulgence
While I think personal story is an important ingredient of nearly every speech, the various distractions that I share in my blog video detail how I came to leave out out a few key chunks from the talk that would have made it more balanced. There were more stats and facts I wanted to share, and also some references to millennials in the workplace.
Sigh…
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Anyway, if you have time, watch it for yourself and let me know what you think. And more importantly, learn from my mistakes.
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P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you improve your speaking or grow your business:
1 – Get my free guide – 27 places to find speaking opportunities.
Find out where your next speaking opportunity might come from – whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or experienced speaker.
2 – Join my Facebook Group – Public Speaking for Female Coaches and Entrepreneurs.
Join us for tips, discussions and community!
3 — Are you an ambitious coach, consultant or small business owner? If you’d like to wow your audiences and find more speaking opportunities, then watch the FREE on-demand training video here: https://sholakaye.com/masterclass
4 – Find out about my VIP Days and private coaching. Book me for a VIP half or full-day session if you want to make some serious progress!