I set up Speaking Out in 2009 to help people, particularly women, get more comfortable and confident with public speakers, and develop the tools they need to take advantage of any opportunities.
I am terrified of public speaking. I’ve usually been comfortable chatting to people one-to-one or in a small group, but when it came to presenting to an audience or even speaking at a big formal meeting, I quickly shrank into the background.
It struck me: How many opportunities am I missing because I avoid public speaking? I saw that many other people in the same boat and that the conferences and events I was going had a far greater number of male speakers. And the truth is that, if you speak, then you get noticed.
Speaking Out believes that public speaking should be about having constructive conversations, rather than impressing an audience or being distracted by nerves.
Speaking Out runs workshops and events to help you:
* Overcome fears about speaking in public
* Improve outward symptoms of nerves
* Show you how to be a good speaker by being yourself
* Give you the skills to make you into a better speaker
Speaking Out has collaborated with the Students Union at the University of the Arts London (UAL), the London College of Fashion, London College of Communication, Artsmart, Enterprise Week, the Girl Geeks, the Greater London Authority at City Hall and others.
Find out more at www.speakingoutevents.co.uk
