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How to Trick People Into Thinking You Are a Professional Speaker
At work, my boss asked if I could give a presentation on giving and receiving feedback. I had just read No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyers and wondered out loud to my boss whether radical transparency would work at our workplace. She was all for it, but the rest of the workplace needed some convincing.
After agreeing to give a presentation, I looked at where I had time in my calendar, and how much time I would need for the presentation. At first, my boss had suggested 30 minutes, and I thought that was a solid amount of time to talk about what I learned, role-play a scenario, and then have time for questions and comments at the end. Then, my boss suggested that if I could, I could also do it in 15 minutes. I half-joked that would take twice as much preparation as a 30-minute presentation.
I have been a Toastmaster for over a decade. I have MC’d weddings, celebrations, and special events. I have done a significant amount of speaking, both prepared and unprepared. And I’m confident that I can say something eloquently in any kind of speaking situation, at work or in my personal life. Through this article, I am going to share my secrets I have learned over my time as a Toastmaster so you too…
