When I ask my workshop attendees why public speaking is so scary, someone always raises a hand and says, “Because we’re afraid of being judged.”
I agree that this is a common fear, and I explain why it is necessary for the audience to judge us. When we are offering ideas seated with them in the audience or around a conference table, that’s fairly safe for us.
But the minute we separate ourselves from the herd and stand in front of them, we are now viewed differently. Expectations have risen. We are now to be credible, leader-like, and worthy of following.
All of this requires split second decision-making on the part of the audience members. And we know it. These are the moments we dread.
We must be judge-worthy ahead of time. This means that we must wear the right outfit, we must appear confident and calm, and we must seem to know and love our subject. We need to exude: “There is no place I’d rather be than here.”
Expect to be judged because that’s part of the territory!
