Public Speaking: Comparison Is The Thief of Joy.

When I rock the mic, I rock the mic - well, quite awkwardly, actually.

🎤  No, I'm not belting out a tune at my local Karaoke bar. This is a photo of me speaking at the recent EMOTIV Corp Live event in #Coventry.

Public speaking doesn't come naturally to me. If I had to describe my presentation style, it would be a blend of nervous energy and absolute panic. By some twist of fate, many people mistake the result of this inner turmoil for passion for my topic (which I also possess in buckets).

I enjoyed the event. The audience was incredibly engaged and I learned a lot in terms of content and delivery from my fellow speakers.

But here's the thing: Comparison is the thief of joy.

When you share a stage with *people like Andrew Rowson from Emotiv Corp (a force of nature), Sarah Znideric from Linnworks (cool, calm, and so professional - she owned the stage), and Kerry Croft from DHL Express (a woman with the kind of presentation skills the TV industry would kill for), you can find yourself questioning your ability.

Of course, much of this doubt is based on imposter syndrome. While the audience hopefully sees a confident, eloquent speaker who knows their stuff, I worry that I'm a fraud and about to be outed at any time. This is despite the evidence of a career spanning far too many years to recall.

It's lovely to be complimented on your presentation after leaving the stage - because you are never 100% sure how the gig went. Are you focusing too much on your nerves and insecurities, or is your ego telling you fibs?

There's one thing I always tell people about the process of public speaking. Everyone is "shitting themselves". If you're not - you're either just going through the motions or just don't care - and nobody wants to see that.

If you've ever considered public speaking, don't let fear get the better of you. Put yourself out there, be authentic, share your experience, and don't try to be like anyone else. On the whole, people will be kind.

I'll be delivering my unique blend of nervous energy and absolute panic at The Content Marketing Bootcamp in Edinburgh on October 29th (booking details are in the comments).

What's your experience of public speaking? Share your comments below:

* I wonder if they feel the same about my review of their public speaking skills, or suffer from a similar malady to me.