Do You Know Who You Really Are?
Do you know who you are…really?
In order to be a good public speaker you need to be comfortable with who you are. And in order to be comfortable, you have to know yourself—the good…but more importantly and the not so good.
It is easy to focus on the good things about ourselves… if we truly want to grow—we have to look at the not so good things a about ourselves as well. Many people find this difficult and avoid examining themselves in truth and honesty.
Why?
Maybe they feel if they do not admit it then it is not so. Or they are waiting for someone else to mention it to them—and if no one does then they don’t have to worry about it. Whatever the reason it is avoidance which leads to a false belief of oneself.
You are Unique
First, let us establish that you are unique. Your have things that are special about you——that is different from everyone else. It can be your smile, your laugh, your mannerisms, your smirk…whatever it is, it is uniquely yours—for no one else has it, even if you are a twin. There are individuals who do not recognize that they are special so they try to be like someone else.
If there is something that you dislike about yourself be honest about it and then see how you can work toward changing it—while keeping and nourishing your uniqueness.
Do I like myself?
Do you like yourself? This is a key question…because if you do not like who you are you may feel that others will not like you either. And this could adversely affect your effectiveness as a public speaker—by eroding your confidence. As a public speaker, you have to have an air of confidence. If you do not have it you audience will know. If you do not like yourself, or you think lowly of yourself then it will show in your tone, mannerisms, and in your eye contact or lack there of.
Can I be better…can I do better
This is where the honesty and truthfulness comes in. Are there things about you that you can improve? Are there things that you can do better? If so why not do it?
As a public speaker, you will need to assess, analyze, and examine how your presentation went—and it will require honesty. If you start to practice how to do this now you will be better off down the road.
Developing this habit now will help you to determine if the feedback you get from evaluators are constructive or not. But if you cannot be honest with yourself—how will you judge if someone else is speaking the truth to you or not?
Public speaking is about communicating with your audience as if talking to a friend or a relative. You want them to connect with you—the real you. That is why it is important to know who you really are—and be comfortable with yourself.
What can you do if you do not like who you are or something that you do?
- Take time to list the things that you do not like about yourself.
- Decide if it is something that you can change or improve on—by simply changing the way you view it or how you respond to it.
- Commit yourself to change…work at it and have patience with yourself. As you practice it will get better.
- Persevere…refuse to give up on yourself.
If you take this approach then you will be well on your way to becoming the public speaker you envisioned yourself to be—confident, bold, and real.
Tags:knowing yourself,who are you really
No Responses to “Do You Know Who You Really Are?”