Do You Fear It Worse Than Death?
Fellow Facebook followers and Blog subscribers, can you believe that most people fear public speaking more than they fear death? When I heard this statistic, it hurt my heart because that is debilitating. Then I started thinking…. I wonder if people are that scared of public speaking what percentage of people on Social Media sites are scared to share their opinion or stand up for what they believe in? If you ponder it, social media could be considered a forum of public speaking because it is a way to get your personal message out. Looking back, I can say that for myself this was true. I used to be “afraid” of posting something on Facebook that may offend somebody or that person may no longer like me because I said something they didn’t agree with. Since making an effort to work on my communication skills I was able to find my truth. When you find your truth, you are no longer attached to the opinion of others and that is an exhilarating feeling. You also become more accepting of other people's truth and opinions.
Back in my first job in Corporate America I used to work on the phones in a call center. It was a great job and fun at the time but it got to be mundane. The company was very much into investing in their employees and offered a public speaking club called Toastmasters. We were able to break away from our jobs for an hour a week to work on self-development. I joined the club because I wanted to work on my communication skills to be able to run meetings effectively. I was in the club for a while but when I left the company so did my membership.
Fast forward 10 years later when I realized that my job situation wasn’t going anywhere and I thought about what I wanted to do in future I was like “Oh SHIT” I don’t have any skills that I have developed over the past how many years and I don’t even know how that happened. This wasn’t in a victim way, I take full responsibility for my lack of self-development. I was too caught up in life, chaos, where my next vacation would be (because I needed a break from my job) “collecting a paycheck” and raising children. I didn’t make the time over the past 9 years to step out of the dark building with no windows where I was working to take a look at how I was creating value every day for others and what I could offer this world. It was a moment I will always recall; I wasn’t marketable, I lacked confidence and could be intimated by mean people and conflict. I better do something about this right away was my instant thought. I began to brainstorm things I could to do make myself more marketable and valuable in the future. To my delight when I started looking in the local community and on meet up.com, which is a website where you enter your interests/hobbies and it matches clubs and groups that would be a good fit, I came across the Tick Talkers Toastmasters right in my city.
The first time I went to the meeting it was at City Hall. I was afraid to walk in the door! I wasn’t fearing it more than death but I did fall into the 75% of people that experience some degree of anxiety/nervousness when it comes to public speaking. There were all these strangers and what if they call on me to speak? I couldn’t believe how far backwards I had fallen from 15 years ago when my young self was running department sales meetings. The good news is that it was only a year ago and I have made satisfactory progress on myself since and am proud to say I will be giving my 8th speech since joining less than a year ago.
Every Saturday morning I am inspired by members that are new to the club giving their very first Icebreaker speech to those that are at a professional level competing in International speech competitions. I write about this topic today because I am so very thank-full to have come across such a wonderful group of people that are so encouraging and positive. I am appreciative of the personal development I have made with the help of new friends. It's a breath of fresh air to gather together every Saturday morning to share in the same goals and make the world a happier place through our communication. Everyone wants everyone to succeed here and we are all working on improving ourselves so we can be better communicators in our communities, schools, and businesses.
If you are wanting to do something for yourself that can benefit multiple areas in your life I would encourage you to visit a Toastmasters club and get more comfortable with public speaking. You will meet new friends and learn from the diverse group of people that belong to the club. Toastmasters is an International club and you can find one locally near you. The meetings are usually once a week and last an hour, depending on the specific club. Each meeting you can sign up to take a role in the meeting, you can give a speech on any topic you want or you can be an observer until you are comfortable taking on a role. There is opportunity every meeting to speak at least once to build your confidence. It’s a wonderful way to challenge yourself and add some discipline in your life if you want more of it.
Imagine if everyone used their voice for their truth and could share their thoughts to denounce falsehood and injustice without fear of judgement. Think about how much happier and more effective we can all be at solving problems and coming together to make a difference for the greater good. Mr. Toastmaster.
Love and Light~
Amber
Pic Below: Tick Talker Friends
