Comparison and judgment were at the wheel because of social media. This is how I was engaging with others and with everything that was happening in the world. The more I scrolled, the more anxious, judge-y, and comparison-y I felt.
Sure there's snappy ad copy to schedule a discovery call or to visit their website to "learn more", but I don't just want to learn more. Before I take my earbuds out of my ears, I want to spend time with the host and discover new perspectives, have space to self-reflect, and feel all the feels.
Every time I went to work on it further, a small voice inside of me whispered, "When there's so much horribleness going on in the world, why would anyone want to hear a season of a podcast about you, the book you wrote when you were 10, and how our stories play a huge role in our identity?" In other words, why would anyone care about my story?
Introduce yourself
Illuminate an idea
Win an argument
Strengthen a call to action
Be a stellar podcast guest
Perhaps you're feeling increased self-doubt when it comes to how you look on camera, or how your tone of voice and body language are translating virtually. Maybe its obsessing over “appropriate” work from home fashion choices (Can I get away with "business" on top and sweatpants on the bottom?) Then are the introspective questions around personal vs. professional identity.
But the more you dwell on the “what if’s?” when it comes to video conferencing and communication, the less chance you’ll show up in a way that feels good, easy, and true to who you are.
Piecing together an introduction for a job interview might take more work than you realize. But start with the bigger story and you will be able to distill an intro that makes you feel good, genuinely expresses who you are beyond your job title, and allows for instance connection between you and the person on the receiving end.
According to this source, approximately 75% of all people experience public speaking anxiety. Of course there are varying levels of glossophobia and it manifests differently for everyone. Whether your fear of public speaking is linked to worrying about how your words are going to received, or it results in a heat rash on your neck and chest, there is one huge action step that will absolutely move you through your fear: Do. Get up in front of people and let go of outcomes. Do it. The public speaking. Speak in front of the public. Just do it.
When I first started telling stories on stage, I thought that what I was doing was doing stand-up comedy. I would perform on comedy nights, with other comedians, and people would laugh at what I said. But my material had a different rhythm to it. I wasn’t out there just to get a laugh every few seconds, I was sharing things from my life that I could now look back on and laugh at (and with). And the payoff for the audience — who would still laugh, repeatedly, along the way — was a complete story, that they could connect to, relate to, and feel joy from.
I left college in NYC with a degree in Vocal Performance and crippling stage fright. For the first few years out of school I could hide from the fear because I wasn’t putting myself out there to be seen, judged, evaluated, or even praised. After one Summer of auditions, I took an office job and spent most of my free time at brunch, watching reality TV, and going to DJ nights.
Last week I moderated a panel discussion on developing your personal brand. There was a lot of debate amongst the panelists and audience members regarding how much we share from our personal lives when in a professional setting. Should you have two Instagram account? (My intern recently told me about FINSTA vs. RINSTA, and my mind was blown.) Do we stay buttoned up - both on the inside and outside - and keep our hobbies, passions, and feelings at bay?
Here’s my philosophy. Meld the professional with the personal. Be yourself and use storytelling as your guide. Here are six ways that crafting your personal narrative will help you professionally.
