A new year has begun. Hopefully, happier, healthier and more peaceful, joyful and economically rewarding than the year before. It is hard not to lapse into complacency and choose to become despondent and negative. Choice is the operative word. We are in control of how we see ourselves and the world. Negativity depletes our work ethic and chips away at our self-confidence.
Our voices project an aura of our inner reflection. Our words, posture, and lack of energy drains our presentations. As speakers, we must find our self-worth and ignite the flame of positivity.
Following is one of my favourite warm-up exercises to practice prior to giving a speech.
Self-confidence is the combination of your basic self-worth and your basic sense of competency. It’s the knowledge that you can cope with any problems you encounter and the belief that you deserve happiness.
Everybody has a critical inner voice. People with low self-esteem simply have a more vocal and harsh critical voice.
Your challenge as an effective public speaker is to create your own healthy voice.
Provide six choices for creating your healthy voice.
Talk to yourself as if you were these people. Provide each of these categories with a short, positive statement called an affirmation.
1. Health Coach – For example: a health coach might say to you prior to a public speaking engagement that “You’re great. You can do it.”
2. Accepting friend – For example: “What a talent you are. You are amazing!”
3. Hollywood agent – For example: “You are a star.”
4. Rational teacher – For example: “You are so accomplished!”
5. Compassionate mentor – For example: “Wow!”
6. Kindly Aunt – For example – “I am so proud of you.”
Read these affirmations prior to your public speaking engagement. This is an important part of your warm-up preparation for public speaking.
Projecting self-confidence gives the listeners the positive energy they require to enjoy, learn
and find your presentations valuable.
Written by Bette Elly Klimitz
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