Marketing Director

Maturing at the Lectern: Confidence

photo by: @jeremylim
Confidence. The word itself is powerful and complex. The concept maybe even more so. It is said the greatest fear people have is public speaking. For others it's not only a fear, but a thrill, a joy, a privilege and a delight. Recently during a day of back-to-back speaking engagements I started to feel something more than at ease in front of the audience. I felt able and prepared to lead a learning exploration. To field their questions and prepared to go 'off track'. Most of all, I like the audience to be in control.

The following presentation was prepared as a Professional Development lunch and learn for a real estate development firm in Vancouver. The audience was great and the boardroom was packed full. The presentation has a Personal/Professional Development focus. This presentation was created from scratch specifically for this purpose.


Earlier that day I had the opportunity to speak to Health Care Professionals at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver during a health care Quality Forum as part of 'Health Care Social Media Camp'. This is the kind of work that I do upon request. The following presentation was designed to incorporate some older elements of my 'intro to social media' presentations. I also brought in a strong focus on health care with specific items around policy and a complete section of examples of implementations for health care in social communications...
Standing in front of both audiences I felt an unusual sense of calm. Nervousness when speaking in front of people often drives my presentation energy. In these cases I felt confident that I could deliver on the expectations of the audience while allowing them to guide the presentations. Being prepared and knowing the audience ultimately helps lead to that confidence. It's different depending on what capacity one is speaking in and what kind of event it is. What do you find as an audience member? As a presenter?

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