Public speaking is hard. I remember starting out in this business, a business which necessitates a fair amount of public speaking, and before each big seminar I’d give, I would have huge anxiety for over a week prior to the event. My family would avoid me, even the dog knew not to interrupt me. Gearing up for events was chaotic and intense and only lead to a huge let down after the event (despite the event’s success) because it was a huge release of energy.
Slowly my comfort with public speaking increased and i became more confident of the effect I was having on students and clients. Along the way I picked up some techniques to create an even faster rapport and ease in the process which is responsible for lessening by far, the anxiety and quickening, by far, the connection and cohesion.
There’s one technique for creating an amazing group rapport which I use often. Simply, I imagine a shovel, like a huge snow shovel, as wide as the audience is and this shovel sits at the back of the room waiting for me to use it. The shovel (in my imagination) starts just over the tops of my audience and curves back around.
I imagine I am drawing energy...