Then There Was The Time I Started Practicing In Public…

PRACTICE IS A NON-NEGOTIABLE FOR ME.*

I know that I need to improve my speaking skills to serve my clients effectively. I don’t want my audience to hear a speech. I want them to have an experience. 

⏰ And I run into the same problem you often encounter too: time. 

I see my time quickly diminish between running a business, being on the road speaking, being a dad and a partner, and fitting in my CrossFit addiction. I am not proud when my rehearsals are put on the back burner of my priority list. 

But then, I found YouTube. 

📺  Well, I wasn’t living under a rock. I knew what YouTube was, and I wanted to start a YouTube channel. 

Fear held me back. 

Wait, I will record videos of myself speaking and post those videos!?! Um…do you know that those videos are public?**

🙀 That’s terrifying. And vulnerable. And time-consuming. 

And it has been a defining factor in my speaking career. 

🌊 I must meditate on my message every week and create content for my channel. And it is much more than that. I am rehearsing content for my keynote speeches. (Don’t tell anyone, but all of my YouTube content is a trial run for potential talks.)

🎭  Even when I am not rehearsing for the stage, I am still developing my speaking skills. I outline the video; I rehearse the video; I record the video; I spend hours and hours editing the video***, then I watch the video. This process has honed my skills in a way that no other practice has. 

So here’s my challenge to you: start a YouTube channel. 

Woah, Erik!! I am not a professional speaker. I just want to improve my communication. 

🚨 Speaking Reality: we are all professional speakers. Some of us speak on stage. All of us are responsible for our communication. 

Your YouTube channel can be about anything. 

Literally, anything. 🚗 🎮 🏋🏽‍♀️❤️🌮🧠

1. Find something you like to talk about.

2. Take out your phone. 

3. Hit record. 

4. Post it. 

5. Ship it****

The number of views, subscribers, or likes won’t impact your speaking. What will impact your speaking is simply speaking in a high(er) stakes environment. 

Knowing that you are recording something others might see will improve your communication skills.

🚨 Spoiler alert: You will be bad at this at first. 

I was. Check out my first posted video on the channel. Oof! I have grown a ton since then. 

Here’s the deal: maybe it isn’t YouTube. 

Maybe it is just you hanging out with Yoodli. 

Whatever it is, the BEST public speaking training you can give yourself is the training you create on your own.*****

Keep speaking up your story,