Welcome to Your Weekly Words with Julie Avis Rogers, where public speaking meets personal flourishing. In these posts (the video and the written transcript below), I’ll share one word to enhance your effectiveness as a public speaker while also giving a boost for your soul! This week’s word is *freedom* so let’s dive in!
(I am calling this week’s post “Freedom, Part One” because I have a feeling that the idea of “freedom” is one I’ll come back to again and again!)
One of my favorite mentors (hello Susie!) often invites me to look for “ freedom and aliveness” in any given situation. It is an invitation that I find deeply impactful. In situations where I feel afraid or stuck or stressed or overwhelmed, I find that the invitation to scan the whole terrain and find the places where there is movement, curiosity, intrigue, possibility, FREEDOM is usually an excellent doorway out of overwhelm and into something far more interesting.
In the realm of public speaking, it can so often feel like so much is out of our control. Will the technology be working? Will there be a grumpy audience member who asks snarky questions? Will traffic or bad weather create a delayed start time? Will we remember the words we want to say? Will our hands shake and our hearts race?
Indeed, when it comes to public speaking (as in life!), we often are placed in situations where we don’t have complete control and there truly is so much that we cannot predict. In fact, so much of the stress and fear associated with public speaking comes directly from those areas that we do not actually have much control over and yet our ruminations and worries and stress make those areas the defining feature of any speaking engagement that we might have ahead!
So today my invitation for you is this: In your next speaking engagement, where is there freedom for you? What are the areas where you get to make the choices? What is in your sphere of influence?
In recent conversations with clients, our exploration of this question has taken us in delightful directions!
For example, when preparing for a speaking engagement, what kind of shoes do you like to wear? What colors would help you feel vibrant or grounded or like your truest self?
What is a food that would feel great to eat the morning before you speak?
Who is a person you’d like to connect with after the speaking engagement is over?
What is a simple ritual you want to bring with you to help ground you if you’re feeling nervous?
Is there a story or a fact or a perspective that you are *excited* to share with your audience?
In short, where is your freedom and aliveness?
Ready for more? Click here to book a free exploratory session with me where we can discuss your questions or concerns about public speaking and if I might be able to support you on your speaking journey. Visit my website to learn more about how to become a more confident, authentic public speaker while boosting your personal flourishing along the way!
“Your Weekly Words” is getting a new name! Thank you thank you to all who participated in last week’s poll to vote on a new name for this collection of reflections on “where public speaking meets personal flourishing.”
Next week will be the first edition under it’s new name…… !!!
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