Talk about supportive parents! A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with a young woman aspiring to her first elected political office- that of senior class president. She needed help with her campaign speech, and her parents wanted to support her and were willing to make an investment in her success. And it worked! From what her happy father reported back to me, this is only the beginning of her pursuit of public speaking for leadership positions. I love the fact that she's starting young. And the truth of the matter is, it only took a couple of hours of work as her public speaking coach and a little videotaping to get her from nervous and stopping in the middle of her talk repeatedly to a smooth and confident delivery.
But it wasn't all me. By the end of our one two-hour session together, I could tell that this young woman, even though only 17, had an innate self-confidence. Bottom line, after breaking through her outer layer of shyness and insecurity in a new situation, she knew who she was. Not bad for a teenager.
Some of us don't develop that sense of self at such a young age. Sometimes this develops a bit later in life. But once you have it, you know that you can do whatever it is you set to do, no matter how much it stretches you past your comfort zone. Isn't that a key component of leadership?
So when you know who you are and know what you want to do, anybody can go for it, even if it involves embarking on something as scary as public speaking. You may need a public speaking coach to work with one-on-one, or some public speaking lessons, but a little support can go a long way if it's aligned with your self and your goals.
In this young woman's case, it was the desire to serve her class and take on a leadership role that motivated her family to do what it took to get there, in this case addressing her discomfort with public speaking. How about you?
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