If you are afraid of public speaking, you’ve probably tried about everything to overcome your fear. And goodness knows we’ve written about most of it. Box breathing. Cognitive restructuring. Exposure therapy.
But sometimes what people need to overcome a fear is simply a really good reason.
A Really Good Reason To Speak
CEO, speaker, and author Jess Ekstrom has a really good reason for summoning the courage to speak: diversity. She says, “Audience members want to see themselves on stage. They want to be able to see someone about whom they can say, ‘She’s just like me.’ If there is no diversity on stage, then the audience won’t be able to identify with the stories.” Identification between speakers and audience members is crucial for connection and effective communication. But what if none of the speakers represent your story or your experience?
Diversity can be everything from gender to race to socioeconomic level and so much more. If you bring any kind of diversity to the public forum, to the presentation stage, to the chorus of voices speaking up and speaking out, here’s the truth. We need you to overcome your fear of public speaking.
You Are Part of an Important Solution to a Persistent Problem
After being overlooked for a prestigious political panel and then watching 5 white males take the stage, political strategist Gina Glantz founded Gender Avenger. Her nonprofit company “focuses on gender balance at all levels in public dialog.” And they help companies and conferences see when they’ve neglected to invite and include a diverse lineup of speakers.
We need to keep pursuing diverse speakers because the truth is, diversity is better for all of us. Here’s how one top law professor defined the purpose of diversity: “People have different experiences, and those experiences bring about different knowledge bases. Those combined experiences, when synthesized, produce a unique body of knowledge and understanding that cannot be brought about by having five clones speak on the same topic.”
Diversity has been scientifically proven to increase company revenue, drive innovation, and increase creativity. So it’s something we need to keep talking about. But the only way to diversify the speakers presenting at conferences and in the company boardroom is to have diverse individuals who are both asked and willing to speak.
That means, if you are someone who can bring diversity to the stage, you should seriously consider all opportunities to present. It’s not just because you can enhance your skills or gain that valuable exposure therapy we mentioned earlier. It’s because when you bring diversity to the stage, you are helping to make sure all voices are represented in the greater conversation.
Fighting the Fear
In her speech on gender equality at the United Nations, Emma Watson ended with this line, “If not me, who? If not now, when?”
So maybe you are still afraid of public speaking. Maybe you’ll have to endure a little nervousness leading up to the presentation. Or maybe you’ll want to back out at the last minute or run from the room. But before you let your fear keep you from saying yes to that speaking engagement, remember who is watching. Others like you. Others who desperately need to hear from someone who represents their voice, their story.
It helps me to think what my two daughters are learning when they watch me get up on the stage to speak about things I think are important. They aren’t just learning from what I have to say. They are learning that people who look and think and talk and act like them matter. That my input, and their input, matters.
In light of that, “I’m too scared” seems too small a reason not to speak.
At Ethos3, we understand that public speaking fear is a tough thing to overcome. But you don’t have to do it alone. Ready to see how we can help?
