Superior Speaking Skills - Kerri Garbis - Leadership in Action- Episode #010

Public speaking is a massive hurdle for so many today. Overcoming the nervousness, the filler words, and the dread of being in front of other people is something a lot of people feel they can’t do. Kerri Garbis, the founder and CEO of Ovation and a long-time speaking coach, joins host Casey Cheshire to provide effective and practical ways to overcome stage fright, remove filler words, and deliver better and more impactful presentations. 

 

Takeaways

Picturing people naked does not actually help with stage fright or nervousness, it’s just something perpetuated by an episode of The Brady Bunch.
To combat nervousness effectively, you must reset your thinking to something that is more rational than emotional, such as, “what is your goal for the presentation?”
The first way to “get of your head” is to use physically targeted thoughts. Try standing or sitting in a neutral position with equal weight on both feet and your arms by your sides. One trick is to put a coin in one of your shoes, this takes your mind off of the presentation and keeps you present in the moment.
The second way to “get out of your head” is practicing prior. Practicing is not just thinking the presentation through in your head, you have to say it out loud and it helps if you can say it to another person, an animal, or a listening device. 
To practice more effectively, try running through the presentation three times with a different goal each time. These goals could be focusing on the story structure, refining your body language, going through the whole thing without pausing, etc.
The third way to “get out of your head” is by finding and implementing a “Pregame Ritual” that works for you. This could be anything that gets you in the right state of mind to present well. Examples include: breathing exercises, physical warmups, “speaker” warmups, vocal warmups, “speed racer” (saying the whole thing as fast as possible, listening to music, etc.
Pauses are a great way to remove filler words. Start by trying to stop using filler words in small chunks, such as your next phone call. Pauses also help recapture the audience’s attention.

 

Links: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrigarbis/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerrigarbis?lang=en
Company website: https://www.getovation.com
Her book: Presentation Skills for Managers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H62G8FK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

Quote of the Show

Practice with accountability

 

Ways to Tune In:

Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/N4_HvgqOIOM