6 Tips for Building Confidence as a Public Speaker (Presented at SQLBits on March 10th, 2022) Do you feel nervous about getting on stage to deliver a presentation? That was me a few years ago. Palms sweating. Hands shaking. Voice trembling. I could barely breathe and talked at what felt like a thousand words per second. Now, public speaking is one of my favorite hobbies. Sometimes, I even plan my vacations around events! What changed? There are no shortcuts to building confidence as a public speaker. However, there are many things you can do to make the journey a little easier for yourself. In this session, I share the top tips I have learned over the years. All it takes is a little preparation and practice. You can do this!

1. 6 Tips for Building Confidence as a Public Speaker
Cathrine Wilhelmsen (Skill)

2. Feel nervous about
getting on stage?

3. Palms sweating…

4. Legs shaking…

5. Voice trembling…

6. Can’t-Breathe-
One-Thousand-
Words-Per-Minute…

7. What changed?

8. 6 Tips for
Building Confidence
as a Public Speaker
Cathrine Wilhelmsen (Skill) • SQLBits 2022

9. Session Abstract
Do you feel nervous about getting on stage to deliver a presentation?
That was me a few years ago. Palms sweating. Hands shaking. Voice trembling. I could barely
breathe and talked at what felt like a thousand words per second. Now, public speaking is one
of my favorite hobbies. Sometimes, I even plan my vacations around events! What changed?
There are no shortcuts to building confidence as a public speaker. However, there are many
things you can do to make the journey a little easier for yourself. In this session, I share the
top tips I have learned over the years. All it takes is a little preparation and practice.
You can do this!

10. @cathrinew
cathrinew.net

11. Not-so-secret-secret:
I still get super nervous…

12. …I just have more practice!

13. There are no shortcuts…

14. …but you can make it
a little easier for yourself

15. Tell Your Story

16. Tell Your Story
1. Challenge or pain point
2. Your solution
3. What did you learn?

17. Focus on the
Key Takeaway

18. Focus on the Key Takeaway
1. What is most important?
2. Summarize in one sentence
3. Build session around it

19. Group Content in
Smaller Chunks

20. Group Content in Smaller Chunks
1. Brains like groups of 3
2. 10-20 minutes
3. Soft breaks

21. Rehearse Offline

22. Rehearse Offline
1. Turn off devices
2. Go outside
3. Rehearse in your head

23. Start Strong

24. Start Strong
1. Never talk yourself down
2. Attendees chose your session
3. Memorize first 5 minutes

25. End on Your Terms

26. End on Your Terms
1. Drop the last “Questions?” slide
2. Respect everyone’s time
3. End with applause

27. 1. Tell Your Story
2. Focus on the Key Takeaway
3. Group Content into Smaller Chunks
4. Rehearse Offline
5. Start Strong
6. End on Your Terms

28. Practice
Learn
Repeat

29. You’ve
got this!

30. Thank you!
hi@cathrinew.net
@cathrinew
cathrinew.net https://sqlb.it/?7244
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