Afterword: How to make the butterflies in your stomach fly in formation
Hi folks! (grins) Yes, my graduation went amazingly well last night. It was an evening of fun, tears and LOTS of picture taking. We have definitely redefined speed - 500 pics per hour! No kidding.
As promised, I will do a quick review on the three tips I gave you in How to make the butterflies in your stomach fly in formation and evaluate its effectiveness.
Suggestion #1 - Forget about your speech!
Works very well for me. When I did my final rehearsal at the ballroom (about an hour before the actual event), some of my friends thought it was an impromptu speech. It did not feel like a prepared speech at all. As a result, I sounded natural and engaging. On my end, I felt as if it was my first time giving the speech. Words came out of my mouth effortlessly and emotions flowed smoothly with the words. It sure boost my confidence a great deal.
Suggestion #2 - Uncover the root of your nervousness
When I saw my batch mates that evening, all my nervousness dissipated. Somehow it did not felt a task anymore. There was hardly any pressure. It became more of a “I want to do it!” kind of thing. I think the lesson here is to know the root of your nervousness. Once you know the cause, acknowledge it. When you acknowledge the root of your nervousness, you automatically stop struggling and your vision clears out. You begin to see how you can take tangible actions to reduce your nervousness rather than just feeling helpless.
Suggestion #3 - Visualize yourself as a superstar!
Well… the audience did not exactly gave me a standing ovation… but still, it served its purpose. I spoke as if I was the superstar! As a result, I was perceived to be extremely at ease with myself on stage. Some of the audience even thought I was having so much more fun than them!!! (grins)
In a nutshell, I thought these three tips worked really well for me. Perhaps it was also my passion for speaking that made it so much easier to speak in front of 120 people … or there could be other reasons. I don’t really know.
Nonetheless, it boils down to this: You never know until you try these tips for yourself! So throw yourself into the deep end of the pool and enjoy the exhilarating process of experimentation and growth!
