My biggest fear is…

Is the same as the biggest fear on the planet- public speaking.

This is no exaggeration. At senior school when my English teacher asked us to write an essay and present it to the class, half of us went AWOL. There were tears! In University I purposefully chose subjects that did not include presenting. As a result I have a degree in one the driest and most unimaginative subjects, that I have never really used since- economics.

To be totally honest, when I first started triathlon, if someone had said to me that I would one day have to make a public speech in front of several thousand I would have quit the sport right there and then.

Needless to say, when I got up to make my first proper speech, aged 34, in front of about 2,000 people when I won Ironman Western Australia, it wasn’t a total disaster, but it certainly wasn’t a raging success. I was stressed for the entire day, I was terrified, and as soon as I got off the stage I downed a beer in about 30 seconds flat.

All of this was needless. It was a F.E.A.R.- False Evidence Appearing Real. What did I truly have to be afraid of? What was the worst thing that could happen? Would they boo me, or throw eggs at me? I doubt it. Really I knew that they wanted to hear what the winner of the race had to say and they were happy for me that I had won.

With a long time between drinks- my second speech being in front of another several hundred at Ironman China and 18 months later- I hadn’t improved much. I had made one visit to a Toastmasters group, and met the friendliest women on the planet- it was a little bit spooky, almost too friendly- a bit Stetford wives club. I thought it would be great practice having to talk in front of all of them, but between their holiday break and my travel, it meant that a follow up visit never happened…

Why is this so important for me? As a Professional Triathlete I miss out on a multitude of opportunities to increase my value by being unable to speak in front of an audience. These opportunities are plentiful; speaking at camps, motivating athletes pre race, corporate work etc. My obligations too could be better fulfilled; media conferences, press interviews etc that pop up pre and post race. I’m not expecting to become the next Winston Churchill, but it would just be nice to eliminate the stress involved. One on one interviews I do fine, but group speaking…no go.

More than just this. I want to improve. It’s a challenge that I think I can overcome if I do actually give it some attention and practice. I don’t want to feel so crippled. I do think I’d like to pass on my experiences successfully. I do also think that because it is such a huge fear, that to nail a speech would be a huge rush!!

I’m reading a great book at the moment- “Mind Maps” by Tony Buzan. We have house guests here at the moment, Teresa Rider, a long time friend and in fact my first inspiration in triathlon, and her husband Scott Jones. So “mind maps” is a book that has been on our bookshelf for a while, that I’d never read. Jonser read it in one day and got me excited to read it too. I expected the book to help me organize my life, which I think it will. But a surprise chapter covers mapping for communication and presentations…how handy!

Thus my conversation with Jonser… It turns out he’s quite experienced in speech giving. So I want to share the advice he gave me with you, because I thought it was pretty awesome- simple and straightforward.
Perhaps you’d like to comment and share your own advice with me?

Jonser’s best tips;
- Never talk about myself. Talk only about the audience.

- Keep it short. (I think I mastered this one first time:))

The speech structure;

-Start with an opener to break the ice.
-Then thank everyone en masse. The only exception being my husband! And obligatory thank yous of sponsors etc.
-Then there are 3 main points.

1. Talk about something that relates to everyone in the room- a common bond- easy with Ironman- e.g. the extreme weather conditions on race day…
2. Tell a story- something entertaining, memorable and inspiring.
3. Summarize 1 and 2.
Say your goodbyes! Done!

The following is “mind maps” advice, and I also think it is excellent, and could actually fit nicely with Scott’s advice on structure and content…

It suggests that the problem with most speeches or presentations is in the planning. Many speeches are written out in sentences- encouraging the reader to keep looking down at the page- with the potential to lose their spot easily- and losing eye contact with the audience. Reading from a page can sound monotone because you loose the flow of natural speech. Another issue is that if you are holding papers you’re not using your body to convey your message, and body language is important. This is me all over!

So what to mind maps do? They keep you aware of the whole picture by having a central theme, in the middle of your page, with a few key points radiating off that theme. These can be numbered and certain points highlighted. They allow you to keep better eye contact with your audience and leave your body free to move and you can be yourself… Sounds easy right?

So now all I have to do is win another race to get the opportunity to speak again!
Take care, have fun and embrace your biggest fears, because after all they are just False Evidence Appearing Real.

Have a great weekend.
Charlotte