Interviews

How a Self-Proclaimed Geek Ditched the Facts and Turned Public Speaking from a Waking Nightmare into a Golden Opportunity with Karin Layton – 074

May 16, 2019

This show happened because a listener reached out to me and told me about the difference The Speaking Club had made to her life in just one month. Engineer and confirmed techie Karin Layton hated public speaking with a passion. She had massive anxiety, which resulted in shaking and sweating when she was forced to speak at all in her job. She described the thought of speaking as a waking nightmare.


But Karin was forced to have a heart to heart with herself when she entered a competition to get funding for her invention and realized that without becoming a better public speaker, she was going to fail miserably. So, she decided to do something about it and looked for a podcast to help her. She discovered the Speaking Club and binge listened to all the episodes, following the processes, putting the learning into action and fighting against all her instincts in relation to the content.


Listen to the show to discover the key lessons she learned, how her public speaking changed and what happened when she took a leap of faith and tried things a new way.


What we talk about:

  • What motivated Karin to face her fear about public speaking.
  • How confidence can be cultivated.
  • How facts and technical details can get in the way of the message.
  • What Karin did differently to prepare for her presentation.
  • Why episode 011 wound Karin up.
  • How stories and metaphors can work in a technical presentation.
  • Why you’ve got to kill your darlings.
  • The inverted rehearsal bell curve that leads to a high impact presentation.
  • How amazing it can feel when you know that your message has landed.
  • The one thing that helped Karin the most.
  • How personal stories can set you apart.
  • Why being yourself and likeable is so valuable as a speaker.


Resources* 

All things Karin:

https://www.mimicid.com

https://www.facebook.com/karinklayton


Other Resources:

Life of Pi by Jann Martel


*(please note if you use my link for the books I get a small commission, but this does not affect your payment)