Step Up Podcast #1 Welcome to step up to the mic. You know, you probably listened to the introduction about what this is. So let's begin. I think one of the first things I want to talk about there's there are no rules in public. Speaking about being you. Now, most people get worried about when they get up to speak or to present at an office meeting or a large convention, take your pick. They worry about their image, the way they are going to present themselves. Well, here, there are no rules on the way you are. I have seen so many different styles of s, some with great energy, some thoughtful making you think others scatterbrained, high energy, some absolutely profane. Yeah. What the fuck. It doesn't matter. There are no rules on the way you are or the way that you show up when you are on stage. But I just use the phrase that is most important is showing up. In other words, the person that you put forward, when you step up to the mic, whether it is online or in a meeting or as a public showing up is so critical. What do I mean by showing up? Well, the real you, the authentic you, the part of you that has no concern about people knowing you it's my experience as a professional coach and as a professional , I have seen wonderful performances by professional s, but it's not them. It's a performance. It's the same as acting. It's rehearsed down to the last gesture and any naturalness; any authenticity has disappeared. Why? Because that's the way older s were trained. That's what so many people want you to be a certain way, but the world doesn't care. What they want to know now is can they trust you now? What I mean by can they trust you? Are you authentic? Are you real? Is that you there speaking? Are you showing up? Unfortunately, most people get wrapped around their image wanting to be the best, 2: Wanting to look the best that they can be. There's no better you than your natural you. So the first thing I want to talk about it, there are no rules on being you be yourself. When I was teaching at the university of British Columbia and I was teaching presentation power, I used to do a survey with audiences, both written and verbal questions. Before we started, one of the questions I used to ask them is how do they feel about people who are nervous when they start or need a little encouragement to get going? And most of them said they don't mind. They like that. It is real. And that they will be encouraging or very enthusiastically sort of waiting for that person to get going. Now it's almost like it's a halo effect, a halo effect. You know, my grandmother had a halo effect about me. 2: She saw me as her sweet grandson, which is a little different from the, what my mother knew me to be. We all gain a halo effect. When we are beginners, people give us some slack. They say, okay, they're [00:04:30] a beginner. Or they notice that you are nervous. Here's the clue though. You see, most people are glad you are up speaking or that you are presenting because it means they're not. There's a stack of surveys presented in all sorts of ways that people hate standing up to speak or speaking in public or presenting on a zoom meeting or doing [00:05:00] anything that reveals who they are. People are scared of it. You know, I think it has to do with the whole idea that if you knew me, if you saw the real me, maybe you wouldn't like me. And most people fear rejection more and more. 2: And with social criteria and the canceled culture, it's easy to get fearful of standing up to speak. [00:05:30] Here's the thing, though, when I used to ask this, I said, well, how do you trust people who are this way? They're nervous, they're anxious, but they, and they all said, oh yeah, I rather trust someone who feels real rather than polished. And I went, oh, why is that? And they all talked about politicians. They don't trust. In fact, I think it's epidemic now that the polished politician with their easy Quip and their trained presentation skills has spoiled it, they have created distrust is trust either with distraction or over promising or outright lying to their audiences. This has created an environment. Whereas a trust is [00:06:30] your number one issue to deal with in the minds and hearts of your listeners, will they trust you? You see it's easy. Really. If you think of it this way, you know, the more you are real, the higher your trust level, the more polished you are, lower your trust level. So in other words, people have caught on to the bullshit and the Polish of the politicians, and they now apply it to everyone. It's kind of strange to think that a lot of training might eradicate your naturalness, your authentic voice, the real you, and sadly, I've seen that happen. 2: I've been leading workshops on presentation and public speaking now for so long, I've almost forgotten, but it's over 20 years. And one of the things that I notice is that everybody starts out with the fear ...
