As a kid I loved the story of David and Goliath in the Bible. There was something about a young lad slaying a giant with bad manners that would supercharge my mind imagining similar victories for myself!

If David could do it, I could too! After all, we had the same God!

One of the biggest Goliaths many of us face is the prospect of having to stand up in a room and speak to a group! Mouths go dry, words get stuck in your throat, your tongue develops a mind of it’s own, thoughts wander in disturbing directions, hands fidget, knees tremble, eyes squint/glaze over and many other  nerve wracking symptoms. To many, public speaking is similar to a near death experience! And the walk to the podium can be like walking the plank! If you get out of it alive, count yourself blessed!

However, if you are able to slay this Goliath, the payoff is huge- both professionally and personally. So here are three lessons for you to take home from David and Goliath’s story about conquering our public speaking fears:

What to do when beginning to speak in public for the first time:

1. Do not put on Saul’s armour- Do not try to be someone else. Study, watch and learn from the best but develop your own style. Be who you are. And constantly work on bettering who you are. If you try to force fit yourself in someone else’s mould, you will lose your originality and will never really develop what you could uniquely offer- which is something the world needs!
2. Even simple stones can be very deadly missiles if used rightly – Simplicity is a very powerful tool- you don’t need high tech gadgetry/ gimmicks every time, as Hans Rosling demonstrates in this talk. Stick to the basics- know your audience, know your content and present it in a way you would like to be presented to. Also practice on focusing your talk and concentrating on one very strong theme throughout. This will keep you from straying off into interesting but ultimately irrelevant tangents.
3. Practice with lions and bears- When practicing your presentation, always stretch yourself more than what you think you would be required. So when you face the real test you are up for it. If you are going to talk for 15 minutes, practice finishing your talk in 12. Similarly, practice without the aids- your computer or pen drive might not work and it would be terrible to be stranded in front of an audience and you can’t recall your main points. If you have practiced with lions and bears, a mere man- even a giant, will not terrify you!

I am sure that there are many other lessons which could be drawn from the David and Goliath story and I would love to hear about any public speaking/ communication pointers you can draw from it.

Meanwhile, get up there, slay your Goliath and change the world with your speech!