Well, it’s that time of the month again. It’s T-SQL Tuesday yet again, and this time round it’s Andy Yun (b/t) hosting with a subject of Growing New Speakers. Well, I’ll admit I’m a fairly new speaker myself. In fact, I’ve spoken a grand total of 4 times so far. That being said I’ve written about my own journey several times.

• 0 to Speaker – Getting up the courage to submit an abstract and the process of writing it.
• Notes on Presenting – A list of notes on what I like to see when watching a presentation collected from my own experiences and from Grant Fritchey’s (b/t) Speaker of the Month series.
• Zero to Speaker pt 2 – My first presentation was accepted. Fear and excitement abounded.
• Naught to Speaker pt 3 – How I got ready for my first presentation.
• Zilch to Speaker: 2016 Summit Abstract Reviews – The abstracts I submitted for 2016 (none were selected) and the feedback I received.
• Nil to Speaker: Improving your PowerPoint Skills – Some great resources you can use to improve your powerpoint.

Ok, so I’ve blogged about speaking more than I’ve actually spoken. That does seem to fit my personality I guess.  That said I do have a bit of advice for anyone who wants to start speaking.

This is a community that WANTS you to speak. We get excited about new speakers. So if you need, or want help, then just reach out. Andy will help. I’ll help. Honestly, I can’t think of any of the speakers I know who wouldn’t be happy to help proof an abstract, review your ppt presentation, or occasionally even listen to a presentation and give advice.

And then once your presentation is finished and you are standing in front of a group waiting to hear you speak, remember one very important fact. Everyone out there wants you to succeed. They are desperate for you to succeed. So they are going to be really forgiving for the odd stumble, the odd mistake. Something I’ve noticed over the years is that even the most experienced speakers stumble every now and again. It’s really not a big deal. You just move on.

So really? What do you have to lose? As someone with my own battles with stage fright, I can tell you that speaking is a real rush. It’s like sitting down at lunch and talking shop with 40-50 of your closest friends.