My 13 year old son was running the mitre saw. We needed 37 boards cut to size in order for the construction of the back deck not to come to a screeching halt.
He'd never operated power tools before, and is one of the most cautious people I have ever known. He won't even watch Fail-Army on Youtube because he doesn't want to watch people get hurt.
And yet, there he was when I walked out to the back deck. Grandpa had given him a tutorial, and left him at it, with gloves, ear and eye protection.
I started helping him move boards around, but I let him lead the project.
By the end, the confidence was there. I asked him this morning what moved him from SCARED, to JUST FINE (his words)
He told me just two things:
- Reassurance
- Experience
I would also add that instruction was a pivotal part of that.
- Instruction
- Reassurance
- Experience
When we learn to speak confidently, the ingredients are the same.
Get instruction, Get reassurance, Gain Experience.
That last one though - there are no shortcuts, there are no quick fixes, there are no workarounds. YOU have to put in the hours. YOU have to do the heavy lifting. YOU have to be the one to turn on the camera, and open your mouth.
So if you want to get better at speaking, if you want to get booked on more stages, if you want to speak more -
you must speak more.