#public-speaking

#public-speaking

With 4 million app downloads, Estonia-based startup Vocal Image aims to help people improve their voice and communication skills with AI-powered coaching. But out of its 160,000 active users, it may be its CEO, Nick Lakhoika, who best embodies its mission. Lakhoika was born in Belarus, didn't speak English until his relocation to Estonia, and once struggled with speaking anxiety.

My vision is fuzzy, my heart is racing and my lungs are emptying of oxygen. I've just been asked to speak in a meeting at my first graduate job on a fashion magazine. My task is simple read out the week's social media stats but I can't make it through. I cut the presentation short. I sit down, murmuring an apology, my eyes stinging with tears.

An interviewer once asked James Baldwin if he'd ever write something without a message. "No writer who ever lived," Baldwin said, "could have written a line without a message." This is true. People write because they have something to say. Baldwin had something to say, and he spent his life saying it. But many who thought they got his message didn't get it at all.

Nerves mean you care. They show a founder's passion for their project and the importance of the moment. Successful pitches blend emotion with strategic communication.

As I have spoken to some of the senators about this, I said, we're gonna take this. The funding will come from the Department of Education.

There's never been a job title I held that she didn't tell her friends was more important than it actually was. There's never been a place I've lived that she didn't try to immediately say was actually downtown in the closest big city.

A well-organized outline boosts confidence and enhances clarity, ensuring your message resonates with the audience, making it a key element for impactful presentations.

I first took beta blockers two years ago, when I was asked to give a eulogy. Terrible at public speaking on a good day, let alone at a funeral, my first instinct was to refuse to do it. I had made a speech at a friend's wedding 15 years before and my legs shook so violently throughout that I thought I would collapse.

Norton struggled with her speech delivery, creating concerns about her future in office, highlighting the challenges faced by leaders in the public eye.

Building a strong thought leadership presence is vital for leaders and brands to forge new partnerships, enhance their reputations, and showcase their expertise.

Here are my tips to sound natural and authentic on camera.