Is that a hairbrush as a microphone? Yup. Are there notecards taped to the wall? Also yup.
This is a behind-the-scenes look at how my public speaking practice started back in the day. I reject the idea that just because I’m an executive, I should only share the polished veneer that “looks the part.” It’s not real. It’s not how I got here. And it’s definitely not how I get better every day.
My first time speaking publicly was in front of 12 people. It went… pretty terribly. My most recent? 5,000 people. Energizing. Easy peasy.
The difference? Practicing. Practicing. Practicing. And then practicing some more.
There are plenty of resources out there for building public speaking skills if that’s a goal of yours. Not here to pile on. I’ll just underscore this: putting in the reps (over and over and over) really matters.
The first few times you flub something on stage? Paralyzing. Debilitating. Full-body, sweaty freakout. But when you’ve practiced, on stage and off, and built a few recovery hacks for when it inevitably happens again? You’re cool as a cucumber. No biggie. You joke. You bring the audience in. You move on. (Or whatever your coping mechanism du jour happens to be.)
Every confident moment you see started somewhere that looked a lot like this. Thank you hairbrush microphones everywhere.
Jourdan Marie Hathaway 