“It’s happened again! No one listens to you. I wish you had something interesting to say.” Susan’s heart sunk as her Captain Paranoia bleated the harsh words into her ear.

Have you ever noticed the uncomfortable feelings, when someone gets that glazed look in their eyes?

ou know they’ve switched off and haven’t heard what you’ve said. Your voice dwindles mid sentence. No one’s going to notice anyway. Right?

This is what happened to Susan, an accomplished Chiropractor and well respected in her field.

Attending a local networking event on the Sunshine Coast, Susan’s stomach churned, her body shook and she fidgeted as she waited her turn to do her forty-five second introductory speech.

“It’s only forty five seconds! I’m great at what I do. What’s wrong with me?” she scolded herself before the next panic attack consumed her.

The words from others, in the network, who had already shared became a blur. So preoccupied with what she would say, she hadn’t heard what anyone had said.

Finally, it was her turn. All eyes turned to Susan. She felt her face go bright crimson and her heart pounded so loud she was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

“Oh no, I can’t do this.” Susan cried to herself.

As Susan stumbled and um’d, desperately trying to find words to express what she wanted to say, she noticed the eyes of the people in the room begin to glaze over. Some looked away as if their thoughts had moved on to other things.

Has this or similar ever happened to you?

Does your Captain Paranoia sit on your shoulder and say things, such as, “Are you sure you can do this? What if you make a fool of yourself? What if you say the wrong thing?”Beautiful looking through window at historic park

Susan was so sick and tired of feeling this way, she made up her mind to do something about it.

After completing Ultimate Speaker Circle, Susan discovered she loved networking. As her self-belief and ability to communicate grew, she noticed that others listened attentively to what she said. As she spoke from her heart and shared her message, her self-confidence, self-trust and certainty blossomed.

It begins with you. It’s about taking a moment to pause so that you can discover the positive in any speaking situation you find yourself. One of life’s success principles is “what you focus on is what you get”. When you focus on what will go well, that’s what will show up in your life.

The opposite is also true.

Maybe you’re wondering, “How do I do that?”

Here’s three suggestions to assist you the next time you’re faced with a speaking challenge:

Acknowledge how you’re feeling right now. Recognise how far you’ve come and the lessons you’ve received. Give yourself a hug for having awareness and insight that you want to make some changes in your life

Choose or create an affirmation that states where you are currently and moves you toward your outcome. You could say, “Even though I feel fearful, I choose to embrace my uncertainty and do the best I can” or “I see this challenge as my chance to grow”

Remember to breathe deeply. As you do this, say out loud “I choose to be aware of my thoughts, my words and my breath.”

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Wayne Dyer

Here’s to your positive attitude as you speak from your heart and share your message!