Matt Abrahams

#310: How to Speak Up Without Freaking Out

#310: How to Speak Up Without Freaking Out

We all have some level of anxiety when it comes to public speaking. Whether it’s a sales pitch, a conference presentation, being a keynote speaker, or even a webinar meeting – the stakes are already high and your stress levels are even higher. 

But anxiety can be beneficial when you’re presenting, helping you to stay focused and giving you energy. The trick is to learn how to manage it so it doesn’t manage you.

Here to help you take the stage so you can become a more confident, connected, and compelling speaker is the ever so innovative and collaborative educator and coach, Matt Abrahams. Matt is the Co-Founder and Principal at Bold Echo Communications Solutions, a presentation and communication skills company based in Silicon Valley that helps people improve their presentation skills. 

He has published the third edition of his book Speaking Up Without Freaking Out, written to help the millions of people who wish to present in a more confident and compelling way. He also hosts the GSB podcast called Think Fast Talk Smart, curates the NoFreakingSpeaking.com website, and teaches Effective Virtual Communication and Essentials of Strategic Communication at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Tune in to learn the common problems that derail most speakers, the symptoms of speaker anxiety and how to overcome them, and the idea that seems counterproductive of daring to be dull. 

Discussed in this episode

• Matt’s simple three-part story structure – “What, So What and Now What?” and how you can implement this approach to make the stories you tell more relevant, concise and clear
• Why you need to focus on understanding your audience’s needs so you can better connect your content to them to make your presentations more compelling
• Simple anxiety management techniques that will help you reduce your speaking anxiety
• Practice makes perfect! Matt shares his best tips when it comes to practicing your presentation so you can better engage with your audience and make your content and delivery more relevant and authentic

Links

• https://boldecho.com/
• https://www.nofreakingspeaking.com/
• Connect with Matt on LinkedIn
• Follow Matt on Twitter
• The ABTs of Selling™ Online Quick course

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