3 things I learned when speaking at TEDx

Whenever I’ve sat in the audience at an event, I’ve always admired those on stage that have the ability to speak and hold people’s attention.

Although I’ve held positions at work that require a lot of communication, public speaking on a stage has never been something I’ve had to do.

As an introvert, I don’t have the natural instinct to talk a lot. I always thought that meant I couldn’t be a public speaker. It doesn’t actually mean that at all. It means that I need to take a slightly different approach to getting on stage.

Late last year before I started working full time on The Wheelchair Skills College, someone made the suggestion that I do a TEDx talk as a way to let more people know about what I’m doing. It seemed like a great idea. The tag line for TED is ‘ideas worth sharing’. I definitely felt like I had one of those. The question I had was if I would be able to get up on stage and talk?

I’ve never done anything like this before so really wasn’t sure about the first step to take. I knew I wanted to talk about wheelchair skills but I had no idea where to start.

It took me six months from when this was an idea to getting on stage to talk. It took a lot of work but I ended up with something that I’m proud of. It made all the effort I put in worth it.

There was a lot I put into the preparation I did in those six months. I got a lot out of it as well. If you are interested in public speaking for the first time, you should read these three things that I learned.

1. Get your message clear

Making the most of your time speaking to an audience is so important. That’s why getting clarity over your message is one of the first things that you should work on.

Giving the audience too much information across a lot of areas will dilute what you’re trying to talk about. Remember, in most cases you’ll have the chance to follow up with people so pick out that one point you want to get across and figure out how best to deliver that message.

The first thing I did was to sit on the floor in my front room with a piece of flip chart paper and marker pens. It was time to get my idea worth sharing out of my head and onto paper.

I knew I wanted to talk about wheelchair skills but that was such a big subject. I started writing down what wheelchair skills were. What wheelchair skills meant to me. What I thought the audience might know and want to know.

At the end I was left with a messy page. But this was a starting point in looking for links between all the things I’d written. As well as getting the key message, I was able to see how I might structure my talk.

2. Get a coach

Could I have got on the stage to talk without support? Probably.

Would it have been my best message in a way that reflects me as person? Definitely not.

I had a story to share, but I didn’t know how to do it. As an introvert with no experience of public speaking, the task of getting onto the red spot at TEDx was daunting to say the least.

I got in touch with an ex-work colleague and friend, Helen Morris Brown, who has done her own TEDx talk and is a public speaking coach.

Helen was able to work with me to take my story from a first draft of forty minutes and shape it into an engaging twelve-minute talk that clearly got my message across.

Being able to take my message and effectively communicate it in a talk took a lot of learning. Essentially, I needed to learn how to speak when most of my communication is written.

Creating something to talk about meant being committed to that continuous improvement and taking feedback from Helen right up until the point of delivery.

3. Get your confidence

As an introvert I have never been drawn to public speaking. Any time I’ve had to speak in front of a group, it’s always been out of necessity rather than desire.

Presenting when I was at school and college was painful to say the least. Intently staring at notes on a piece of paper or making awkward jokes.

The first time I remember choosing to present in any context was way back in 2008 when I started volunteering as a wheelchair skills trainer. I had these wheelchair skills and felt compelled to teach others. I guess it was out of the regard I held for the trainers that had taught me.

Delivering so many wheelchair skills training sessions over the years built my confidence in talking to small groups. This was really helpful when I started working in an office and needed to speak up in meetings.

While I’m confident in my communication skills in some settings, getting on stage to share a story is a different ball game.

It helped that I would be talking about a subject that I knew a lot about and I was confident in speaking about from the years of delivering wheelchair skills training.

For the TEDx talk I had to build my confidence from a low starting point as I didn’t have the experience in public speaking.

To build my confidence in public speaking it came down to three things. Practise, practise, practise.

I rehearsed my talk so many times. In front of a camera, a mirror, family, friends, and basically anyone who would watch.

You can do it

I cannot emphasise just how much the continuous preparation helped me. If you want to do it properly, it won’t be quick. It was a long time between deciding to do my TEDx talk and actually getting on stage. This meant I could get myself ready for it.

There are so many resources out there to learn from. Check out some of the TEDx talks on YouTube and pick out bits that you like and bits that you don’t.

It’s a big thing to get on stage for your first-time public speaking. So give yourself some time to get what you need to be there.