Speaking Up without Freaking Out

Matt Abrahams

with Matt Abrahams

Co-Founder and Principal Bold Echo Communication Solutions

Speaking Up without Freaking Out

Speaking Up without Freaking Out 240 301 33Voices

Moe welcomes back Matt Abrahams to talk about  50 scientifically-supported techniques to become a more confident and calm speaker.

Speaking Up Without Freaking Out — Pt II

In his monumental book, Mastery, Robert Greene (@RobertGreene) reminds us that the road to Mastery requires patience and sacrifice.  “You will have to keep your focus on five or ten years down the road…” he echoes; “The process of getting there is full of challenges and pleasures …. Real pleasure comes from overcoming challenges, feeling confidence in your abilities, gaining fluency in skills, and experiencing the power this brings.  You develop patience.  Boredom no longer signals the need for distraction, but rather the need for new challenges to conquer.”   When it comes to communications, excellence is always a moving target and unless you bring to it the type of dedication that Greene’s describing, Mastery is bound to elude you.  

In this episode of the 33voices Edge Dialogues, I welcome back a friend, Matt Abrahams who has made it his life’s work to help business builders, senior executives, and graduate students at Stanford to not only elevate their confidence when speaking, but more so to shift the way they view themselves as speakers.  He just released the 3rd edition of his book, Speaking Up Without Freaking Out, and and you’ll notice during our conversation is much greater emphasis on virtual communication.  

Here’s a small sample of what we discuss:

  • The habits that enable engagement in virtual communication

  • Why anxiety is normal & why you shouldn’t fight it

  • The two key questions to answer before any presentation

  • Why openness and feedback are the keys to fostering confident communication at work

  • Why you shouldn’t memorize your next presentation

  • Why presence is a skill that anyone can enhance

  • What improv teaches us about effective communication