Her challenge boiled down to a classic case of imposter syndrome—the deceptive feeling of not having ‘earned’ or ‘deserving of’ certain achievements. Even with 10+ years as a user experience designer (with many accomplishments under her belt), Tammy didn’t feel like an expert. When called on to lead a presentation, conduct a usability test with a customer, or share her expertise during a job interview, she’d get scared. And making things worse, other people were noticing.
“I’d get feedback saying that I seemed nervous or talked too formally,” she explains.
Tammy wanted a way to conquer her fear of public speaking once and for all. Committed to overcoming this challenge, she found her way to Femgineer’s Confident Communicators Course.
“I wanted to improve my overall communication skills,” she says. “I knew I was capable of achieving this goal but just needed some guidance. Books, YouTube videos, and watching others’ talks was helpful, but I wanted more structured instruction around very specific pain points that I was facing. Femgineer’s Confident Communicators Course was something I could identify with–I felt like it was created for my exact pain points.”
Overcoming Obstacles to Surface Her True Expertise and Leadership
Tammy’s goals from the course were two-fold: she wanted to be able to better articulate what she wanted to say and to sound like the leader she already knew she was. To pursue this goal, Tammy knew that she would need hands-on instruction in a safe, constructive environment with fellow learners.
At the beginning of the course, Tammy decided she wanted to focus on creating a long form presentation that she could to share during job interviews and with potential customers. But she wasn’t sure how to showcase her work: she didn’t feel like an expert.
But this was a problem that was solvable. Tammy just needed to get over a simple hurdle: translating her expertise into a clear and compelling story. Karen and Poornima helped her get there by teaching storytelling techniques for developing more impactful content.
After finalizing her presentation’s content and storytelling direction, it was time for Tammy to start practicing. Round one of practicing wasn’t easy: she rambled on, lost track of what she was saying, would feel flustered half way through her practice sessions, and wanted to give up.
But she didn’t.
The instruction and guidance that she received in Confident Communicators gave her the stamina to keep going and finally overcome the roadblocks that were forcing her to stumble.
Having Karen and Poornima as instructors helped Tammy follow through for the full 8 weeks of the course. Tammy regularly attended office hours, recoded all her practice sessions, submitted them for instructor feedback, and incorporated their feedback into each practice session.
Practicing Her Way to the Confidence that Was Always Within Her
Around week 6 of the course, Tammy was suddenly called on to give a presentation to a potential client. She was still nervous, but she focused on applying what she had learned in the course to the presentation, and it helped to have Karen and Poornima cheering her on.
At the end of her presentation one of the attendees came up to her and said, “Wow Tammy, you are such a confident presenter!”
Tammy couldn’t believe what she was hearing: she had finally achieved one of her biggest life goals by becoming a confident communicator.
“I’d never dreamed about public speaking. I always thought it was for only extroverts and people with a lot of confidence. Femgineer’s Confident Communicator Course guided me on how to speak and broke it down into action items. I became a better presenter!”
If you’re like Tammy, and tired of feeling nervous and want to present like a pro, then enroll in Femgineer’s Confident Communicator Course. Registration ends Friday April 29, 2016.
