What Does Public Speaking Training Look Like?
Credit: Jon Tyson / Unsplash
Well, with me at least? 😆
If you've been reading this blog (or my newsletter) for a while now, you already know there's ONE major difference between my training and
a lot of 'public speaking coaching' out there: there's no 'mindset work'.
Both because I don't think it matters much (if at all), and because…I'm not a shrink, so not qualified to be fiddling around with your head anyway.
SO: let's say you pay me the £60 for one of my intensive, 60-minute troubleshooting sessions. What happens from there?
1. We meet on Zoom, and I start recording - so you can focus on the session and not on taking notes.
2. You tell me as much detail as possible about that upcoming speaking gig of yours - that TEDx talk, keynote speech at an industry conference...whatever it is you've got coming up.
3. When we're on the same page, we get to the 'coaching you' part: here I will either
A. watch you do your (finished) speech 'live', and then give you actionable feedback you can apply immediately. Common feedback are things like...
- 'I'd chuck this out - you're repeating yourself'
- 'what does that part mean - can you give an example/anecdote?'
- 'slow down so much that to YOU it feels too slow, and then it will be right for your audience'
B. help you actually put together your speech.
Not to brag, but I've told by many clients that I have a way of coaxing words and stories out of people they didn't even know were there. If you have no idea what to talk about, we can brainstorm and I will ask a lot of questions to get stuff out of you. Most of my clients are creative, intuitive people, though - so it's usually more of a 'I have so many ideas that I can't fit them all into a 10-20' speech; how do I put this together in a way that makes sense and the audience loves?' kinda situation.
3. By the end of the session you have at least one of the following:
- a powerful, emotive speech that tells the right story for you - AND the technical details on HOW to deliver it (where to pause, how to enhance it with your body language, how to use your voice)
- a solid outline of what to think about when you're putting together your speech (in case you came to me without one) - AND, once again, the technical tips on how to deliver it well.
4. I then send you the recording and some notes where I reiterate what was covered and give you a task or two to work on.
5. You send me a 'WOOHOO - people loved it!' email after the actual gig, and we pop (virtual) champagne 😁
Sound like you? Got a TEDx talk, important keynote speech, or other high-stakes speaking gig coming up soon? And your issue isn't 'confidence', 'mindset' or any of that inner fluff - but rather the whole 'HOW do I nail it and not just survive it?' thing? Get in touch here - let's see if I can help you out.