Are you afraid to speak in public?

The fear of public speaking is exceedingly common. The thought of standing in front of a crowd can cause people’s knees to weaken and the stomach butterflies to launch. Yet public speaking is considered an essential professional skill, especially for those moving into leadership positions. Therefore, how can one overcome public speaking fears?

A recent “Life Kit” article resurfaced on the NPR website this past week titled, “Oops, I messed up! 7 common public speaking issues — and how to fix them.” In the piece, reporters Kyle Norris and Audrey Nguyen speak to a public speaking expert, who provides tips on how to overcome fearful speaking situations. The first issue they explore is the problem of unfocused speeches.

Before you dive into your speech, figure out your core message, says Dominguez Chan.

“If my audience could walk out of this room with one thing, what would that one thing be?” she asks. It can be an idea, a feeling “like wanting your audience to walk away feeling appreciated” or a call to action — like inspiring someone to vote.

Next, they tackle the challenge of figuring out what to include in the speech.

Now that you have your core message, make sure all the ideas in your speech point back to it, says Dominguez Chan.

It makes it easier to decide what to say and it “helps you make every other decision, from the structure to the specific stories and concrete images that you include,” she adds.

A third topic they explore is how to engage with, and not simply talk to, an audience.

Dominguez Chan likes using what she calls “sticky stories” in her speeches — honest, vivid anecdotes with details that engage the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.

They “are going to make your presentation memorable. People remember stories and images,” she says.

To learn more about these three issues, plus discover techniques to overcome four more, please read the rest of the article on the NPR website.

In case you missed it, November 13 was World Kindness Day. It is a special time to remind everyone that being kind does not cost you a penny. In fact, when people perform an act of kindness, they not only benefit the person who receives it, but they themselves and everyone who sees it happen all feel better as a result.

Of course, you can, and should, be kind every day. Yet, people often underestimate the power of kindness. They believe that in this cruel world only pure self-interest will make a person successful. Therefore, is kindness a form of weakness?

The Kindness Extremist Shola Richards would say firmly that kindness is a strength. In a recent blog post, Shola shared the main thing that kind people contribute to the world.

Here’s something that kind people do, that the rest of the world does not:

They give a damn about issues that don’t affect them personally.

In our increasingly polarized world, this kind of expansive empathy has become not just uncommon, it’s damn near revolutionary. he shared the main difference that kind people have over others.

Why is this important? Shola starts by pointing out why selfish people offer very little to the world.

When we only care about issues that directly affect us, we create a world where problems persist because the people with the power to solve them don’t experience the pain of those problems personally. (Please re-read that sentence).

He then shares why approaching the world through the lens of kindness makes a huge difference not only to others, but to yourself as well.

Here’s what I know for sure: kindness isn’t about creating a world that works just for me and people like me. It’s about creating a world that works for everyone.

And to be painfully clear, this isn’t about unnecessary guilt or performative activism.

This is about recognizing that our individual wellbeing is connected to the collective wellbeing of our communities and our world.

Read the full blog post on Shola’s Kindness Extremist website.