Networking is a very common and popular way for businesses of all sizes to connect, develop relationships, and to grow.
Unfortunately, for a lot of people, the thought of standing up in front of a room full of people – whether colleagues or strangers – can be daunting.
People can find they lack the confidence to stand up and talk about themselves even if it is just for a minute – making the whole networking experience a bit of a nightmare.
Even worse, generally as a member one gets the opportunity to stand up and do a long presentation to the entire room – those 10 – 20 minutes can feel like an eternity.
That was the position in which Andrew found himself.
He joined his local networking group because he wanted to grow his contacts and develop his business. It’s just that he found he lacked the confidence to properly do himself and his business justice during the one minute round.
Worse, he had the dreaded 10 minute presentation spot looming.
Recognising that this was not helping him or his profile or his business, Andrew decided to come and see me to get over his public speaking fear once and for all (it helped that at the time we were in the same network meetings – it’s almost as if networking works!)
In Andrew’s case it was a single fear which was holding him back, namely being scared of speaking in public. Which meant we only needed a single session to go through all the work to help him conquer it fully.
Did it work?
Well, Andrew put it to the test the following week – not only did he have the usual 1 minute to introduce himself, he was also the speaker for that week, having to deliver a 10 minute presentation. The thought of which had really scared him previously.
However, not only did he sail through his intro, he felt completely at ease delivering his 10 minute presentation.
Gone were the only nerves, the old self-doubt, and the old fear.
Instead, just calmness and even enjoying what he was doing.
All of which has made for a long lasting change for Andrew – by eliminating that fear he is better able to connect with his fellow networkers, create a better impression, help them to better understand who and how he can help – all of which increases his referrals and business as a direct result.
Nice one, Andrew!
In His Own Words
Behind me is this building here where I do my one minute presentations for a business networking meeting.
At the start I just couldn’t get my words out. I really struggled with the confidence of standing up in front of people and had real anxiety.
However, I worked with Keith just one session and it helped me to be more confident and it really worked.
I now stand up in front of the whole group, which is about 25 people. I did a ten minute presentation and felt completely at ease.
The technique that we went through really helped, and now really it’s been a fantastic change for me.
So, yeah, thanks!
If You Want To Make Change
If there’s something holding you back, something you want to change or get rid of once and for all, maybe we should have a chat?
Who knows, maybe soon others will be inspired by reading your story here!
