“But I’m uncomfortable in front of the audience…”

A few years ago I was coaching a client who swayed back and forth as he spoke. We were videoing his talk, and I thought that when he saw how extreme his movement was, he’d be surprised.

 

“Oh, yes, I know that I do that when I speak,” he said. “It makes me feel secure.”

 

This was fascinating. His security-swaying undermined his talk; it was hard to follow what he said when he was shifting his weight so that one foot, then the other, would actually leave the floor. He had clearly calculated that the swaying was worth it as long as he felt comfortable.

 

The trade-off, of course, is that the audience is distracted by the movement and can’t focus on his message. So what’s the real objective for the talk? For the speaker to feel secure or for the audience to receive the message?

 

We can have both. Coaching can bring the speaker a sense of safety in front of the audience, and that pays off for the speaker and the audience.

 

Check out Ignite CSP’s approach here: https://www.ignitecsp.com/how-we-do-it/individual-coaching/

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