I was recently on the largest late-night talk show in America where there was between 3-5 million listeners. As I was listening to the host review the news of the day to start the show, I held my phone up to my ear waiting to go live. The difference between giving a speech to an audience and doing this radio show is you can prepare for the speech by writing it down and practising. On the radio show, I have no idea what the host will ask, and when they do listener call-in, I have no idea of what the listeners will ask. The great thing about it for me was because I practised handling these pressure situations, I had no fear. By simply listening to what the host or listeners ask, my brain had no fearful interference and my best came out. The same will hold true for any situation when we have to speak in important situations. It might be with just another person, like in a job interview, or when we have to get up in front of an audience. The key to remember is at the moment of truth, you know what you know. What you want is to let it come out in a way that transfers your message to your audience. Being in a calm state of mind is essential for that to happen. All the preparation in the world won’t save us if we can’t conquer our fears. Thankfully, it’s a skill we can learn!
