Do Not Limit Yourself: Speak with Confidence

I am not good at public speaking was a quick excuse for Rose.[mfn] These tips can help you get started in public speaking.[/mfn]

She apologized to everyone. She did not want to waste our time.

And she went to me to explain why her speech was not good enough. Once again, she told me that she was not a born natural speaker. She is an engineer; engineers are not good speakers.

Her speech was nice. Her stories were interesting and the audience was receptive to her message. The purpose of her speech was self-introduction, and she was successful. But to her mind, she was a failure. She was not a good speaker and she would never become one because she is an engineer.

“No one is born a natural born speaker. There are people who learn how to speak well faster than the rest of us, I know. But I have not seen a newborn baby who speaks well. Everyone who desires to learn must put himself into the conscious and deliberate study.”

She nodded her head.

“And one more thing. Engineers are special people. They are both creative and logical. They can make sense of things seen and unseen. There are many engineers who are excellent speakers. Do not limit yourself. It is not your fault that you are an engineer. It is your asset that you are an engineer.”

I do not know what you are thinking. But leaders who desire to inspire and empower people must learn how to speak well. You can do that too.

Read these too.

I recognize that we are not all similarly situated. I understand that some of us find it difficult to gain confidence. I completely understand where smallish thinking comes from. I had it and there are times that I still think of myself as less capable than most.

Our experiences shaped us.

For this reason, I have been encouraging people to dream bigger dreams. We have to stretch ourselves for that is the fastest way to show that we can go beyond our self-imposed limits.

Curious if you’re really playing at your best? Find out with the A-Game Scorecard. It takes just a few minutes. Every answer shows if you’re pushing your limits—or holding back in the safe zone. Take your A-game Scorecard.

Leaders who play their A-Game daily elevate the entire team. They focus on high-impact tasks and lead by example.

Develop leaders like this, and your organization will thrive.

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