Goldfish, Sharks and Facing your Fears

Following on from last quarter’s newsletter, A fear of being boring, I now see my theory has legs. It seems holiday seasons are the only time I either get the head space to reflect, podcast and read. Steven Bartlett’s ‘The Diary of A CEO’ is affirming my theory on a topic I stumbled upon and adds psychological reasoning to my fear. 

Having watched so many people doing not particularly engaging yet ‘professional presentations’, I figured out this is likely where my fear comes from. That I was suppose to follow suit and do something similar.

My background was a creative one. Historically, I was on stage, creating, teaching and always interacting and engaging. Importantly, my hands were occupied so I was doing a couple things at once which helps my mind and communication flow, no room for the panic mode to set in. 

Moving into a corporate environment I had slightly lost the sense of who I was or should be in those moments and felt I should follow theses examples, which were often filled with loads of corporate jargon, dry power point slides and very similar people not really emotionally attached to what they were talking about.

In reality it’s a fact you have 5 seconds to capture someone’s attention and 9 seconds to hold it. Research shows in the last 15 years human attention spans have dropped from 12 seconds to 9 seconds. 

Notably a second SHORTER than a goldfish! 

So what has happened since my last outpouring of public emotion on my inability to present/public speak. I read a couple of interesting Ted Talk book showcasing the approach the world’s greatest public speakers use to entertain and educate whilst they communicate.

I had a session or two with my coach and I’ve asked multiple people for feedback (thank you to those who generously provided this!) . I’ve accepted the challenge to present again at our Town hall, I thought hard about how and what I should present whilst remaining authentic. I prepared and practiced with an excellent public speaker, namely our Chief People Officer. 

I had a run through on the day. I took the microphone 🎤 that I had thought created more panic and also requested a colleague record me so I could review and improve for next time. I did it and asked for feedback around the business once again. 

The outcome: I remembered everything, I landed the majority of my points and the audience were involved and engaged. I looked back with a feeling of pride and that fact I cracked it. 

So when the call came in a week ago to speak again at the CRO Summit and I am presented with the options of panel or 30 min presentation. I ponder 🤔. I ask what are the sessions for panel chats and a couple are right up my street. But then bringing the warrior that I am, I request to take a speaking slot. 

I do caveat it will be different, it won’t be selling, it won’t be facts and figures, it will be human and likely about the art of relationships and the impact that has on building trust and absolutely effects revenue but it will not be like other sessions. 

Challenge accepted and now I have until December to use my new approach to public speaking: be authentic, engaging and story tell and ultimately thrive on being different. 

Now into the second most terrifying experience in the last 3 months: shark encounters. Whilst my brother (a typical Yorkshire man) said I should be use to sharks living in London. Shark encounter 1: an organised shark tour with experienced instructors. Shark encounter 2: a random snorkeling trip about 30 meters out from the beach.

Now nothing quite prepares you for swimming alongside sharks. However, similar to public speaking, with the right mental preparation and in the right environment, it was a generally pleasant and exhilarating experience to swim alongside these serene and gracious creatures.

However, coming across a shark unexpectedly was certainly a more scary encounter - even thought it was smaller - made me reflect on the similarities of both the terrifying situations. 

When you take the time to consider and mentally prepare for new challenges and take control by choosing to face them head on, and if you educate yourself, practice and prepare you know what to expect and it’s less scary. 

So moral of the story is face your fears. Life is all about risk and reward. Do you want to challenge yourself and grow, or do you want to stand still and wait for life to pass you by?

Feeling the fear, or like you don’t belong in a room because you haven’t been there before, is all part of a process of self development and growth. I personally choose to NOT label this as impostor syndrome as I honestly don’t like a term that seems to have a negative connotation and is generally related to women. If the term helps you in a positive way then that's good for you.

I choose to face the fear, vocalise it with vulnerability, ask for help, put the work in and share my approach with authenticity and, as with all challenges in life, simply ‘Get it Done’.