Hi Reader,
Does your blood run cold at the idea of having to present to a packed room at work?
Or maybe you're ok with presenting but know you could be even better.
A fear of public speaking is something I've struggled with in the past and have had to actively work on over the years. My favourite book I've come across to help is called Speaking Up Without Freaking Out by Matt Abrahams. It’s packed with 50 practical techniques to overcome nerves and deliver a great talk or presentation.
🎥 In this short video, I share the 3 tips from the book that have really helped me improve my presenting skills. (And if you prefer reading over watching, I've written them below too).
The 3 tips that helped me most:
🗣️ 1. Involve your audience
Ask a question, invite a show of hands, or get their thoughts. It shifts the focus away from you — and makes things more interactive and engaging.
⏸️ 2. Pause
When we’re nervous, we tend to speak too fast or fill the silence with “ums” and “ers.” Pausing gives your words more impact and helps you stay calm and in control.
🗣️ 3. Practise out loud
It’s easy to rehearse a presentation silently in your head — but saying it out loud makes a huge difference. You’ll feel more confident and spot the parts that need adjusting before you’re in the room.
Want to feel more confident at work?
Public speaking is just one of an unlimited number of things you might wish you felt more confident about.
Each of us has our own confidence gremlins — the things that hold us back, chip away at our self-belief, or make us second-guess ourselves.
That’s one of the reasons why confidence-building is a big part of the Inspiring HR Leadership Programme.
Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, each person in the cohort gets to decide what they’d most like to focus on confidence-wise — and it can be absolutely anything.
To give you an idea, previous participants have chosen to work on things like: speaking up in senior leadership meetings, being more strategic, and writing impactful papers.
Whatever your confidence-focus, the programme gives you the space, tools and support to make real progress.
If you’ve already signed up — I can’t wait to support you. And if you haven’t yet, there’s still time to join us. The next cohort starts on 30th April - find out more here.
Best wishes,
P.S. This email’s arriving a little later than usual — the latest video took me a few extra tries to get right! I’ve been sharing these short weekly video tips from my favourite books while 🎙️HR Coffee Time is on a break. I’m hoping to speed things up soon!
P.P.S. Looking for more help with public speaking? You might enjoy these HR Coffee Time podcast episodes:
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