My Best Experience in JCI - Speaking Up
My Best Experience in JCI - Speaking Up
Posted By admin |12 Sep 2019
By Mike Rothon
My best experience in JCI was signing up for the JCI UK Public Speaking Academy… as it felt like a catalyst and the start of public speaking journey. I have never felt more confident standing up and speaking in front of people since this event and no single event has impacted me more.
It wasn’t always this was public speaking is something that I have always struggled with, I grew up with the feeling that it would never change and I had grown to accept this. When asked to speak publically I normally accepted out of obligation, this usually led to the familiar routine of spending the next week racked with nerves and anxiety.
For me, public speaking provoked actual fear and pushed me into my panic zone stopping me from being able to perform. This meant I would often come across unprepared and miss some key points, as I would forget things in the heat of the moment.
Speaking Up at the Public Speaking Competition Panel
I didn’t really know how much my public speaking could improve till I started this journey. I attended the academy. The weekend essentially helped me move back out of the panic zone and into my learning zone where I could hone my speaking skills. I was re-trained in all aspects of public speaking and presentations for the better. The training focussed on slowly practising the newly taught skills not to overwhelm delegates with long presentations which could take people back to those moments of fear which could halt any progression.
I left the training with a new found confidence and knowledge that I had started to build a foundation that I could work with. I had a real sense that I could be better and could command a room with my speaking. I felt I had found the spark to fire up my ignition to help me progress and write over past experiences.
Since taking on the JCI UK Public Speaking Academy competition I have felt more able to:
Speaking Up at the Public Speaking Competition Panel
I didn’t really know how much my public speaking could improve till I started this journey. I attended the academy. The weekend essentially helped me move back out of the panic zone and into my learning zone where I could hone my speaking skills. I was re-trained in all aspects of public speaking and presentations for the better. The training focussed on slowly practising the newly taught skills not to overwhelm delegates with long presentations which could take people back to those moments of fear which could halt any progression.
I left the training with a new found confidence and knowledge that I had started to build a foundation that I could work with. I had a real sense that I could be better and could command a room with my speaking. I felt I had found the spark to fire up my ignition to help me progress and write over past experiences.
Since taking on the JCI UK Public Speaking Academy competition I have felt more able to:
- Confidently deliver my message for different audiences
- Be significantly less fearful about impromptu speaking in front of people
- Generally all-round more confident in various work and social scenarios
By Oliver Hyde
