You know what?

There’s a whole lot of public speaking misinformation is out there, which is why it’s easy to feel defeated when you’re doing everything “right” and still not getting results.

Before I learned how to overcome my self-consciousness speaking in the big, dimly lit room, I was anxious.  I read all the articles and guides and nothing was making it easier for me to feel comfortable in my own public speaking skin.

Expert #1 would say use amazing audio/visual media to spice up your presentation and take the attention off you.  Expert #2 would say use strategic humor to win over a crowd.

None of these things worked for me.

Many people think that faking it till you make it is the best way to truly improve as a speaker because you stop worrying so much about what’s going on in your own head and pretend you’ve already mastered speaking.

Others tell you that dozens of speaking opportunities is the only way to success.  But most people don’t have endless opportunities to speak in front of 100+ people for fun and practice. 

I learned that neither of these options felt real to me.  They didn’t fit with what my mind and body were physically telling me during a presentation and they weren’t realistic options.

You absolutely should NOT shy away from a speaking opportunity, no matter how it feels, or how nervous it makes you.  

Each chance you get to share your message in front of an audience is an amazing gift.  People’s time is the most valuable resource they have – if they are sharing that with you, never say no.

Just like me, you’ll need to rise to the challenge.  You’ll need to conquer those thoughts and feelings to shine as you were meant to.

I couldn’t often see them, or hear them, or interact with them directly, but something felt softer.  The interaction felt more genuine.  

When I stopped listening to everyone else and I listened to the voice in myself that believed I was of value to the world, I succeeded.

I want that for you.  You can find this peace too!

The key is to let go of limiting beliefs that may be holding you back from speaking ease and excellence, and how you can turn them into your speaking superpowers.

Limiting Belief #1: I’m not good enough.

This belief is our good old friend, Imposter Syndrome.  He comes around when we start doing new things, things that feel weird to us, or things that make us feel awkward.  This slippery companion comes into our ear and whispers, you can’t do this.  Someone else is more qualified.  Someone else can do a better job.

It is one of the most damaging internal beliefs we can inflict on ourselves.

And most of us have these types of thoughts every single day.

I did today.  I didn’t understand how I was going to juggle everything I needed to get done today.  I figured someone else’s wife/mother/employee/supervisor would have just been… better.

Then I took a deep breath and realized I needed a moment for myself.  Imposter syndrome doesn’t have control – you do!

How to turn it into your superpower

First, challenge your belief. After all, it’s just a belief and you have no proof that it’s reality (spoiler: it’s NOT!)

Ask yourself why you believe you aren’t qualified to do something. Is it that you don’t have formal training?  That you’ve had a setback in the past?  That you’re doing something new (good for you!)? 

Once you have the answers, think about what it would be like to do the opposite. What would it be like to know you were a credible source?  To feel confident in the strength of your experience, rather than education?  That setbacks and mistakes help you learn better than any win?  That trying new things gives you new perspective?

You don’t have to take action now. Just let it sit with you and try to broaden your perspective.  Keep challenging yourself. 

When you’re ready, try reaching out for help. Here are a few resources available:

• Level up your skills!  Read about the mistakes speakers make most often and how to overcome them.
• Focus on communication skills you can use in all situations.
• Get a blueprint for easier and more effective public speaking.

Limiting Belief #2 – I’ll make a mistake; it will be embarrassing.

“If I give that presentation, I’ll fumble my words and forget what I wanted to say.”

Sound familiar?

Anxious speakers are terrified of making mistakes.  Whether in a conference room, a job interview, leading a meeting with senior leadership, or in a huge hotel ballroom.

This fear of making a mistake holds them back.  I’ve met hundreds of people over the years who share the same limiting belief – they view mistakes as terminal

But you know what?

Everyone makes mistakes.  Mistakes are ok.

Audiences forgive authentic speakers for making mistakes.

Speakers grow and improve when they make mistakes and reflect on them meaningfully.

Watching someone make a mistake, recognize it, and try to improve themselves is the foundation of teaching and learning.  It is an important journey that we will never take if we hold ourselves back from doing things we might not be amazing at.

How to turn it into your superpower

Yes, when you communicate with others, whether publicly or one-on-one you are going to make some mistakes.  Embrace it!  Encourage yourself!

Learn the art of a self-deprecating smile and an apology.  Learn to be forgiving of other’s communication mistakes.

Rehearse your presentations beforehand so that you make fewer mistakes.

You’ll never give a perfect presentation, but you can absolutely make some impactful, meaningful, and fantastically amazing ones.

Limiting Belief #3: The audience doesn’t care.

I get it – we live in a chaotic, attention-fragmented, busy world.  It can sometimes feel like you are shouting into a void when you try to engage with warm and cold audiences.

These are really daunting thoughts.  It is a lot easier to give in to these feelings of helplessness than to find a constructive way through them.

And when you doubt your audience or don’t know exactly how to connect them to your message, it 

The problem with this belief is twofold.  First, it puts the responsibility for caring about or getting engaged with your topic on the audience.  It’s key to remember that the audience is giving you the gift of their time.

What gift are you giving in return?  The responsibility is really on you as the speaker to provide a present of value.

The second issue with believing your audience doesn’t care is that as the speaker, it is your job to make them care.  If the topic is truly important, of relevance to the audience, and worthy of their time and attention, be inspired to find creative ways to encourage them to connect.

When you start down the path towards negative thoughts about your audience, you might start introducing other limiting beliefs into your internal dialog.

Maybe a more talented speaker would be able to move this audience.  Maybe if you hadn’t made so many mistakes they would have “gotten it”.  See?  One negative thought starts to spiral into another.

The problem with this belief is that it can prevent more empowering beliefs from forming if you’re not aware of them.

How to turn it into your superpower

It can be hard not to give some of the responsibility for attention and interest to the audience.  But I strongly urge you to stop this thought right in its tracks.

Flip this limiting belief on its head and instead challenge yourself to get to know your audience better and find more meaningful connections between them as people and the topic you’re trying to share with them.

When you’re closely connected to your audience – when you get them – it suddenly becomes so easy to share wi

You can absolutely positively impact any audience! 

As with most things, the first step is to believe that you can!  The second step is to deliberately look for reasons your audience should care about your topic.

For example:

Does it affect their professional lives?

Will it impact their personal relationships?

Be able to answer the question – why should they care about their topic?

Once you answer this question, suddenly this limiting belief fades away and loses its power over you.

Rewriting the script on negative thoughts is the cornerstone of the course Presenting Well Without Anxiety.  Using this same type of technique, you can start to break down the anxiety you feel when presenting or speaking.  

Join the course and let go of the beliefs that make speaking a stressful task and hold back your career.

Limiting Belief #4: My message doesn’t matter.

If you don’t believe in your message and what you want to share with the world, the audience won’t either.

When you’re sharing an idea with an audience, one that you’ve researched and refined and edited, you are that idea’s biggest fan.  You have to believe.

  You need to set your idea up for success.

The truth is, some topics and presentations may not be your favorite.  But if you are going to ask for the audience’s precious time, you owe it to them, to your topic and to yourself to be amazing.

You owe it to give it your best.  Which starts at the very first thoughts you have about a presentation until the last follow up email is answered.

Mindset matters.

How to turn it into a superpower

You don’t need to exclusively present on topics of significance to human-kind to share a message that matters. You just need to share ideas in a way that connects powerfully to your audience. 

Don’t be afraid to talk to people about your topic – ask friends, family, neighbors, colleages – what are your thoughts on this?  What do you know or wish you knew?  

Gathering data is a powerful way to validate an idea and better understand how to connect presentations with people.

You’re making great progress!

It’s time to turn your limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs! If you find yourself procrastinating on your upcoming presentation, think about what may be holding you back. Write down 10 limiting beliefs, and don’t be afraid to see them on paper. 

We all have them, remember? It’s what you do with them that counts. 

Will you push through and keep going? You bet you will! 

I created a free blueprint to help you get started.

Download my free Presenting Well blueprint that outlines the steps to high quality and impactful presentations.

Remember, you can always reach me here. Let’s get you Presenting Well!

To ensure you’re getting the best advice, this post was written by a human, not AI.

~Andrea

Updated by Andrea Hamilton, Feb 27, 2025

Everyone has a voice. Use yours by Presenting Well.