A Musical with a Message

I sat across from my daughter as we watched the musical “Seasons” at the Orlando Fringe Festival. We were impressed with the powerful acting, beautiful singing and the smart messages woven throughout the lives of two women, Hope and Helen, who confronted life’s challenges and faced their fears head-on.

As Hope got ready for her wedding day, she was afraid that she may lose her mother, who was dying of cancer. Helen’s plans for medical school were interrupted by an unplanned pregnancy. She was afraid she’d never fall in love with her new husband and their baby. Both women grew stronger as they confronted their fears.

As a public speaking coach, I see many people who are afraid to stand in front of a group of people. They use glossophobia—fear of public speaking—as an excuse for not developing their brand, their leadership skills or their full potential.

In the musical, Hope and Helen learned that death, birth and marriage are scary. But those experiences brought them unexpected gifts. Hope’s mother lived to see her get married and Helen fell in love with her baby and her husband.

If you are silently suffering from glossophobia. There are three things you can do to face your fears:

1. Decide that you have more to gain by mastering presentation skills, than you have to lose by telling yourself and others “I hate public speaking”.

2. Make change a priority. Make 2014 the year you learn a few new presentation skills. Look for opportunities to practice speaking to small groups of friends or business associates.

3. Think about how your fear is holding you back. If you conquer your fear of public speaking, you’ll grow as a professional, as a leader and a person who has a voice that needs to be heard.

You can recover from glossophobia and conquer your fear of public speaking. I’m pulling for you! If you need more motivation, email me at Rosalyn@portercoachyou.com