Shaking knees, sweaty palms and the urge to run for the door – we all get anxious at the thought of public speaking. Here, Laura Williams reminds us that you can feel the fear and still be 10% braver
Despite the many (many!) hats we wear as SBLs, it’s not often that public speaking appears on our radar. But, for a school business leader, public speaking is a superpower that will help you establish credibility, amplify your voice and open doors that you don’t even know exist yet!
If you know me well, you may know this story, but the first time I ever spoke at an event was at an EdExec Live back in 2017. Being asked to speak was a total fluke and my acceptance was a typical Laura move – say yes and figure it out later!
I spent hours writing and preparing and rehearsing, but nothing could prepare me for that moment when I entered the room. The seats were already filled, people were still arriving and standing at the back, and I thought that I was going to throw up right there and then!
I put my bag down and walked through the centre aisle to the back of the room to get a bottle of water and to take a breath. I was having palpitations and my mind was racing.
What am I doing? What made me think I could do this? Look at all these people! I’ve never done this before. I know I’m going to talk too fast. I’m going to look so stupid. Nobody wants to hear what I have to say. I need to get out of here…
Yep, I 100% genuinely considered doing a runner and slipping out of the second exit next to the refreshment table. But then…
Sh*t my bag is still at the front!
I was stuck and about to hyperventilate!
Then the door next to me opened and an EdExec team member gave me a smile and a thumbs up and I had no choice but to walk back to the front, pick up my cue cards (aka my script in tiny print) and start talking…
And then it’s all a blank.
Seriously, I can’t remember a thing about it. But some lovely SBLs stayed behind to ask me questions and to talk to me about their experiences and I have never been so grateful or relieved in my life! Fast forward to 7 years later and what have I learnt about public speaking?
You don’t have to be the best speaker in the world to speak (I’m not even close)
You don’t have to be the same as everyone else to be listened to or to be accepted (Being different is fun!)
You don’t need to know what you’re going to say off by heart (I still don’t!)
You just need a bit of guidance and a bit of confidence.
I often get asked, ‘does it get easier’? A little. I still get incredibly nervous before every single event I speak at (online, in person and even on the podcast!) – which when I tell people they find surprising. Nervous might even be an understatement!
But the truth of it is, speaking about school business leadership lights me up and that feeling is stronger than the fear of doing it! Sure, I’m scared of standing on a stage, that I’ll say the wrong thing or forget to say anything at all, that I’ll fall over or realise that my top is on back to front or be asked a question that I have no answer to.
But when I weigh it all up, if those things did happen, the world wouldn’t end and though I’d be embarrassed, I’d get over it. Sure, I’m terrified but not enough to stop me from doing it. I want to more than I’m afraid to. Both of those things can be true.
I want to. I’m afraid to.
Growth sits outside of our comfort zone – and so does fear.
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