Getting uncomfortable

I’m more of an introvert than an extrovert. It takes a lot for me to put myself out there, to show off what I do, it doesn’t come naturally to me. So you can imagine the prospect of speaking in front of an audience terrifies the life out of me.

But for me, this year is all about growth. I feel the need to do this to help myself and my business grow. So I have been putting my hand up for a lot of stuff lately. Filling myself up with knowledge from industry experts and over the course of this year will put these golden nuggets into practice.

I had the privilege of attending two workshops last week, one was by the incredible designer and educator Chris Do. The second was a public speaking workshop with the very talented & motivational Gerry Duffy. Both covered different topics but both were actually very closely linked on reflection.

I first came across Chris Do through his YouTube channel. I loved his no nonsense approach, his can do attitude & infectious energy. When I saw that Enterprise Ireland were facilitating a morning workshop with him, I knew I had to be there.

The style of the workshop was informal, with Chris asking us what we wanted to talk about. He said he was very happy to abandon his slide presentation and free style it. We agreed on a mix of both, some presentation with a little freestyle thrown in. It was refreshing to see this, he wasn’t afraid to go off track and had no problem letting us steer the direction of what we wanted discussed. This set the tone from the beginning and I knew this was not going to be a run of the mill workshop.

The morning was packed with real insight. There were so many takeaways from the workshop, I found it difficult to decide which ones were the best for me to share with you. So I have complied a list of the ones that I could really relate to and made a connection. I hope you get something from this too.

My top 5 Chris Do tips!

1. “If you want to double your income, you will have to be twice the person you are today”. You need to go to workshops, read relevant books, immerse yourself in whatever topic you are selling. Basically really step it up a gear.
2. “Find five companies/people who are already doing what you want to do & study them. Success leaves clues”.
3. “We have to let the world know what we do!” Write articles, speak at events, create YouTube videos etc. whatever it takes to get your message out there.
4. All brands & companies need to have an attractive character with a compelling back story, character flaws, parables and polarising views.
5. He also spoke about SMART goals. S = Specific, M = Measurable, A = Attainable, R = Relatable and T = Time Bound.

In the latter half of the worksop, Chris discussed mindset. He advised us to disrupt patterns and our current way of thinking, if it’s not serving us. Why repeat that same narrative. He went on to add, that limiting beliefs are just lies that we keep telling ourselves. If you want to change the story, you have to change how you look at it.

The second workshop was a full day of interactive learning with Gerry Duffy, hosted by a powerhouse of a lady Amanda Delaney, on the area of public speaking with eleven other participants. 

Gerry’s introduction really stands out in my mind. It did so because it started with him handing us each a white sheet of paper, then got us to stand up, close our eyes and fold the sheet in half, then fold it again and so on, each time we did, we had to tear a piece off the top right hand corner. 

Then he got us to open our eyes and unfold our sheets and have a look at our own and everyone else’s sheet of paper. It was such a clever way of demonstrating his message and how the day will unfold. That each one of us will listen to the same content but our interpretations will be so unique and different from each other, everyone will get something different from the day. Gerry’s teaching manner was very gentle & encouraging from the onset. It really felt like a safe space where we would learn from a great speaker.

Like Chris Do, Gerry Duffy shared a wealth of knowledge with us.
Here are five of Gerry’s brilliant pointers on public speaking.

1. “Use words like you are paying for them”.
2. “It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it”.
3. “Pause. Vary your tone. Delay in delivery”.
4. “Invite/suggest/recommend to the audience”.
5. “Keys to a great presentation are craft (what investment are you putting in), powerful opening (statement, question), resonate with your audience and end with a strong exit (link back to beginning)”.

We each had to deliver our talk/presentation to the room at the start of the day, then again at the end of the day, taking on board all we had learned from Gerry. The difference was remarkable, it was evident that we each had soaked up all this invaluable experience and information from Gerry. Now don’t get me wrong, the nerves were still there but I did feel more in control of what I was saying and how I wanted my message to come across. 

The common thread between the two speakers was that they both spoke about mindset and both cited Jim Rohn. They prompted that it’s not about us, it’s about our audience, to come from an authentic place when delivering content and to get uncomfortable, that’s how you know you are growing.

I came away from both workshops buzzing, ready to stop hiding behind my computer screen and take incremental steps in the right direction. So I am putting my money where my mouth is and will be sharing a personal story at Amanda Delaney’s “We Can and We Will” event on the 6th March in Dublin, along with a couple of the other speakers from Gerry’s workshop. I believe this story shaped me into the person I am today and gave me the determination to eventually go on to set up my own Brand & Graphic Design business Treetop Studio. Yes, the nerves will be there, my legs will be shaking, I might feel like I want to run and hide, but I will get over that and just need to do it. In truth, I am actually a little bit excited!

If you are interested in coming along to the event, you can get a free ticket here!

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