It sounds like something you might need a prescription for, but it is actually the fear of public speaking.
For some people, that means feeling slightly nervous before addressing a room. For others, it means a racing heart, shaky hands and the sudden disappearance of every useful thought they have ever had. You can know your business inside out. You can talk confidently to clients all day. You can explain exactly what you do over a coffee without giving it a second thought.
Then you stand up in front of a group.
Suddenly, you forget your business name, what services you offer and, briefly, every word in the English language.
Sound familiar?
You are certainly not alone. Estimates vary, but more than 40% of people are thought to experience some level of anxiety around public speaking.
That is one reason Orb can be such a useful place to build confidence.
At every Orb meeting, members have a short opportunity to talk about their business.
The purpose is not to deliver a flawless speech, use impressive language or perform like a professional presenter. It is simply to help the people in the room understand your business a little better.
Who do you help?
What problem do you solve?
What might someone hear in a conversation that should make them think of you?
That is all your fellow members really want to know.
You will not be removed from the group for saying “um” more than three times.
Everyone in the room understands that speaking in front of others can feel uncomfortable.
Most of them have felt exactly the same way.
The difficulty with public speaking is that many of us avoid it until we absolutely have to do it.
Then, when we suddenly need to present at a meeting, speak at an event or introduce our business to a room full of people, it feels like a very big occasion.
At Orb, you’ll grow confident about speaking about your business.
You’re not standing in front of a room full of strangers. You’re speaking to people you meet regularly, who understand what it takes to run a business and genuinely want you to do well.
Over time, you’ll stop worrying quite so much about performing and begin to relax.
You notice which examples make people pay attention and you become better at explaining your work without relying on industry jargon. You learn how to describe the type of client you would most like to meet.
Most importantly, you realise that losing your train of thought is not a disaster.
It is normal. You pause, smile, find your place and carry on.
A polished pitch is not always the most memorable one.
Sometimes, the moment people remember is the unexpected story, the honest admission or the example that made everyone laugh.
Good communication is not about sounding rehearsed, it’s about helping people understand you.
That might mean sharing a recent client problem you solved or explaining a common misunderstanding about your industry. You might tell the group what sort of conversation should make them think of your business.
Orb members want each other to succeed and they know that understanding one another’s businesses properly makes it easier to recognise genuine opportunities and make thoughtful introductions.
When someone forgets what they were going to say, nobody looks away awkwardly because they’ve been there too.
And if you completely fluff your pitch you will probably get the biggest clap of the day.
Overcoming the fear of public speaking does not usually happen in one dramatic moment, it happens gradually.
You stand up once, even though you feel nervous. Then you do it again.
Eventually, speaking about your business stops feeling like a performance.
And that’s the real benefit of practising in a supportive group. You are not trying to become a professional public speaker. You are simply becoming more comfortable talking about the business you know better than anyone else.
We’ve all forgotten our words, lost our place or sat down and immediately remembered the brilliant point we meant to make!
You are in very good company.
