Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Three, two, one, three, two, one, three, two, one, two, one, two, one,
one, one, one, one, woo, round of applause!
>> [APPLAUSE] >> I have a fear of public speaking, and
it's something I really want to get over.
I know it's gonna hold me back in my career and in my life in general.
So, I'm going to an improv class designed for
professionals to help get over this fear.
[MUSIC] >> We all want to be the best versions of
ourselves.
I'm on a quest trying out new ways to become A Better Me.
[MUSIC]
>> Why would you use improv to help with public speaking?
>> So the real objective of improv is, how can we get you to reduce your self
consciousness around your voice and your body?
>> You get your body on your side, and you just act like a confident person.
And now we're all gonna duggy.
You're just doing something, cuz that's the rule of improve,
there are no improve police, you cannot fail at this.
>> I was definitely really nervous about looking like a total fool.
But we did all these exercises where you can't help but
look like an idiot, and so does everyone else.
>> Zip!
>> Zap!
>> Zop! >> Zip!
>> Zap!
>> Zop!
>> Zip! >> Again, but do it even bigger!
>> All right, zip!
>> We all ended up loosening up so much more, and being so
much more comfortable in our own skins.
>> All right, and we're just going to walk around for a second.
Everybody's going to walk around.
And you're going to take 30 seconds to think about something you want to talk
about for one minute.
After a minute, your partners are going to give you feedback.
>> I am working on a story right now, about 3M, the materials manufacturer.
So they've created this, it sounds really stupid, and really small actually.
It's a pavement that self-driving cars can actually see better based
on the sensors and the cameras that they have.
>> [APPLAUSE] >> Aw.
>> All right, and we're going to give feedback.
>> At one point, you said, I guess.
>> No, [LAUGH]. >> So it's like, you don't guess,
you know your story.
>> Yeah. >> And then,
one thing you said, this kind of sounds stupid.
Now, I don't know if that was a setup, or if that was just like a,
I'm not sure if they'll be interested in it.
>> That's what we would call diminishing language.
>> Yeah, diminishing, yeah.
>> So it's like I'm diminishing a little bit of what I'm saying.
>> Right. >> I was using diminutive language talking
about an article that I had written, that I had spent weeks reporting on.
Where I had talked to all of these experts.
It was shocking to see that even though I knew what I was talking about,
I still used language to diminish it.
>> Easiest thing I can give you in a two hour class, take up space with your body,
elevating your presence.
>> If I'm going into a meeting with my boss, if I stand up and
pull my shoulders back, and project that confidence.
I think I can trick my mind into feeling more confident.
>> The question is, ultimately, how do we get our brain on board with us?
The first step for calming your body is you have to breathe, when we get anxious,
we stop breathing.
I had a client once, she worked for one of the biggest banks in Manhattan.
She was the only female speaking at a conference to about 400 men.
And so I told her, what you're going to do is you're just gonna stand on the stage.
And you're not gonna start until everybody is paying attention to you.
And she said it took about a minute,
everybody was off their phone watching her.
But the power in doing that, the power in pausing and in breathing.
And then she just was like, thank you for your attention.
>> I'm working on a story.
>> I really want to be able to speak up in a crowded room and
feel confident in my opinion and in my voice.
>> Did she look like somebody who was calm, confident, and credible?
>> Yes. >> Yeah.
>> Amazing, round of applause,
yeah, really great. >> [APPLAUSE]
>> I think the biggest tip that I'm gonna
take away from this is that moment before you start speaking, take a deep breath.
You can come across as so much more confident and feel so
much more self-assured in what you have to say.
[MUSIC]