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First-Time Public Speaking: Lessons from My Nerve-Wracking First Talk
Advice For First Time Speakers
My First Public Talk
I remember the first time I gave a talk publicly. It was nine years ago, and I was invited to Manchester by our A/B testing provider to talk about my work. To this day, I still remember that presentation. It was called “Think Big — Start Small”, and it was all about the experimentation program I was running at my company.
I spent weeks building the slides. I wrote down everything I was going to say on flashcards in excruciating detail. It never occurred to me that I already knew the content inside out and that all I was doing was making myself more nervous.
On the train journey up to Manchester the night before, I read and re-read my flashcards. With each run-through, I put more and more pressure on myself. I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t memorise the sentences. (Flashback to high school when I joined the drama club, landed the lead role in a murder mystery play… and forgot most of my lines!) That night, I stayed up late, sacrificing sleep to go through my slides and notes. Looking back, it was such a stupid decision. I must have assumed I wasn’t going to get much sleep anyway.
