Do you freeze when speaking? Here's what to do

Whether you are a CEO, a teacher, a mom, a coach, or an ice cream scooper, your speaking skills are important. Our ability to communicate effectively affects our relationships, career and self-esteem. And the great part about it is that with practice, ANYONE can be a great speaker.

Grant Baldwin, a professional speaker, entrepreneur, author, and family man has taught hundreds of people this skill because he knows first hand that speakers are not born, they are grown. Years ago when his wife (high school sweetheart) was five-months pregnant with his first daughter, Grant made the decision to quit his job to find something he was passionate about doing.

On this podcast, Grant talks about:

The excitement/pressure during the time he was soul searching
How he knew his calling was to be a speaker
The three questions you should ask yourself if you want to be a professional speaker
- Why do you want to speak?
- Who do you what to speak to?
- And what do you want to speak about?

And his advice on what to do if you freeze while speaking is amazing and simple:

"You set the tone for the room, meaning that if you are really, really uptight as a speaker, it makes the audience uncomfortable. Whereas if you are really confident and comfortable, it puts the audience at ease.

So let's play out he scenario where you are speaking and you totally lose your train of thought and brain fart. If it becomes this horribly awkward moment for you, it's going to be horribly awkward for the audience. Whereas if you're just honest and play it off and say, 'Oh my gosh have you ever had those moments where you totally just forgot what you were talking about?' and just allow yourself to be human in that moment, it diffuses the tension in the room."

Listen to Grant's podcast, The Speaker Lab, or check out his course on speaking, available at GrantBaldwin.com.

The song featured in this podcast is called, "Slow Burn" by Autograf.