It’s been a long week, but I started George Stephanopoulos’ masterclass on communication during my lunch break today. It was a nice change because it shifted my mind back into what’s important—my journey and the things I want to accomplish. I only got through two and a half lessons, but I came away with really valuable public speaking advice. Still, even more importantly, it made me realize that lack of preparation is a major reason for my nervousness when speaking publicly.
As I listened to him speak about what he does to battle nerves. This thirty-year journalism industry veteran said preparedness and breathing have served him well throughout his career. I just began a practice of intentional breathing, so I felt great when I heard that. But when I thought about how prepared I’ve felt when I had to speak publicly, I couldn’t honestly say that I prepared to the best of my ability. In fact, I have chosen not to thoroughly prepare because I’ve gotten away with not doing so with other things. But today, I realized that if I’m going to get to the level, I want to get to and where I feel like I’m capable of going, I have to give my all.
I saw an anonymous quote on social media that said, “You can’t put 50% in and expect to get 100% out.”
Amen.