CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 13, 2020
Do You Struggle with Imposter Syndrome? Join the Club!
Imposter Syndrome is the feeling that you’re not really as smart or capable as other people believe. That you’re constantly fooling them. And that, any second now, you’re going to be found out. Unmasked. Exposed as…an imposter.
People who suffer from Imposter Syndrome—and lots of very smart and talented people do—think that their success is due to luck, timing, perseverance, their contacts, or people just liking them; anything but their own worth and effort.
As you can imagine, or as you know from experience, this is a pretty bad way to feel. And since nothing kicks up self-doubt like public speaking, public speaking is also a great way to kick up some Imposter Syndrome.
So What Do You Do If You Feel Like an Imposter?
Two related approaches can help you handle Imposter Syndrome and the fear of public speaking that often accompanies it.
They both work well. The goal is to make them work for you.
1. Understand Your Experience
Every culture in recorded history has looked for ways to quiet the negative thoughts and emotions that often plague us.
Whether it’s meditation or therapy, sweat lodges or Burning Man, we’ve always wanted to be more at peace with our own thoughts and feelings; with ourselves.

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Charles diCagno founded the Public Speaking Center of NY and is an expert on fear of public speaking. He offers six steps for managing fear that I’ve adapted for Imposter Syndrome:
Expect, allow and accept that you’ll sometimes feel like an imposter.
When those feelings come up, label how strong they are on a scale of 1 to 10.
Observe that you’re having feelings, let them be, and calmly wait for them to pass.
While you’re waiting, focus on and do manageable tasks.
Appreciate yourself for getting things done even though you feel like an imposter; and finally,
Expect, allow, and accept that Imposter Syndrome will rear its ugly head again, and that you’ll manage the feelings, just like you did this time.
2. Understand Yourself
At Otto Kroeger Associates, where I studied both Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i 2.0) theory and practice, I learned the phrase “Better Self-Awareness for Better Self-Management.”
But the meaning of that phrase didn’t really hit me until I was tossing and turning in bed one night before leading a workshop I’d just designed.
Make It A Champion Day!