[audio:https://www.transformationtom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/41Chapter-55.mp3]”From Fear to Success” Audiobook = Brainstorm: The Friends-and-Family Effect
Who knows you better, outside of yourself, than your friends,
family, and colleagues? When you are searching for topics or trying to
fine-tune a passionate presentation, invest time with the people closest
to you. Throw ideas against the wall and see if they stick. Use the close
relationships to ensure that the messages you want to convey truly
come across as intended. You should not fear feedback because of the
comfort in realizing that if this group of people can’t provide you with
the gift of their honest opinions, then who can? It is impossible to do
it alone.
I spent the first year and a half after joining Toastmasters practicing
my speeches in the car and in front of mirrors. Although both are
good tools, they can’t compare to the eyes of your spouse or significant
other staring back at you. I learned that if I could do it well in front of
my wife, then a couple hundred people would be easy. I finally shared
a competition speech with my wife right before I got in the car to drive
to the competition. The speech typically took six and a half minutes
to perform. For her, I did it in five minutes because of my anxiety,
since I really wanted to impress her. Within the speech, I had the line,
“Millions of dogs and cats”; instead, I said, “Millions of dogs and a
cat.” We laughed together after the speech. I knew she was a supporter
of my public speaking, but didn’t realize how much I could rely on
her. After I became more comfortable with my dependence on her, I
learned to have healthier dialogues regarding subjective feedback. In
another speech, I had the line, “My first legal adult beverage…,” and
my wife said it was too obscure and lacked the punch I wanted. She
suggested using, “My first beer….” I fought her on it until a friend suggested
the exact same line. Somehow, I had known she was right, but I
had refused to listen (I still have work to do in listening to my wife). I
have now become an open book to friends and family, especially to my
greatest supporter, my wife.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World (Honorable Mention at the 2012 New England Book Festival) and From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide (2013 Axiom Business Book Awards Gold Medal Winner and 2013 Paris Book Festival Honorable Mention). Audiobook version of “From Fear to Success” is also available! See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com
MP3 Downloads of “From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide” are available at Apple iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, Spotify, Omnifone, Google Music Store, Rdio, Muve Music, Bloom.fm, Slacker Radio, MediaNet, 7digital, 24-7, Rumblefish, and Shazam “From Fear to Success” MP3 on CD Baby