Episode 4 - Boosting Your Confidence in Public Speaking with Wendy Chong
In this episode, I interview presentation and speaking coach, Wendy Chong. I met Wendy in a mastermind that we are both a part of. From the minute she introduced herself, she made such a strong impression. I knew right away I wanted to work with her.
Wendy helps her clients project confidence and competence when they address people in person, whether it be a large formal environment or a smaller, more casual environment. She emphasizes how important it is to maximize the face to face opportunities you have with people because of our increasingly short attention spans as a society. Her clients come from a variety of industries and age groups, but they all share an openness to learning no matter how experienced they are.
We discuss what my own experience was like working with Wendy and I ask her to share some tips for anyone preparing for public speaking. She shares how important it is to prepare your content and your presentations as two parallel tracks, simultaneously. You do not have to have your content completely prepared before working on your delivery. Wendy shares ways you can continue to work on your delivery outside of your content by practicing in your everyday interactions with people. We also discuss the pitfalls of under and over preparing.
I ask Wendy if she recommends tricks like the popular “picture your audience naked” idea to calm your nerves before a presentation. While neither of us like that tip, she shares several other ideas including finding music that “pumps you up” or spending a few minutes in a power pose. The power pose is a strategy I love and use regularly now.
Wendy has provided me with so many tools to help me with my speech habits. She shares some of her favorite tools to share with clients to help them feel and project confidence throughout their presentation.
In this episode, you will hear about:
What a presentation and speaking coach does
Types of clients that might benefit from working with a presentation and speaking coach
A little about my own experience working with Wendy
Tips for preparing for public speaking of any kind
Tricks for calming your nerves before a speech or presentation
Strategies for what to do when you're asked a question you don’t know the answer to
Tools that Wendy uses with her clients most frequently
Resources & Links mentioned in the Episode
Wendy Chong's Website - Elevate Your Presence
