Article Father’s Try-Out Wedding Speech to Daughter
The following story of change and renewal, as told to me by one of my clients, whom we’ll call William, aptly illustrates how one life-changing incident can dramatically switch our thinking from “I can’t!” to “I now can!”
Allow me to share his remarkable experience as he told it to me.
“As long as I can remember, I’ve been terrified of public speaking. I’ve been fearful of making a fool of myself; I’ve been fearful of getting things wrong; and I’ve been fearful of being judged by my listeners. The funny thing is, I’m normally a very confident person when communicating face-to-face with my family, friends, and clients. But never did I have the remotest inkling that this one-to-one communication confidence I’d developed over many years had anything whatsoever to do with public speaking… very strange when you think that most times the groups I’d be speaking to were the same people!’
The Gifted Few
‘So on I struggled, living in the shadow of ‘the gifted few’ who make speaking before groups look so easy. In fact, I went on avoiding it for years until one day I could run no more… My daughter’s wedding!’
‘Now in my heart of hearts, I knew what I wanted to say, as if I were taking my listeners on a little journey of how cute my daughter was when she was a baby; the things she got up to as a teenager; and the day the man in her life showed me the ring first! But deep down, I knew that the guests at her wedding would never hear my heartfelt words, for my nagging inner voice kept telling me how hopeless I was at speaking and blocked my way. It was a losing battle, and there was no escape!’
Unscheduled Practice Run
‘A week before the wedding, I was sitting alone in a secluded restaurant, desperately going through this speech that meant so much to me. I was at my wit’s end when a do-or-die idea flashed into my mind. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a friendly group of grown-ups and children enjoying a family get-together at a big table across the way. Without thinking, I found myself before this table of complete strangers pouring out my predicament, that my talk had some interesting stories in it, and would they mind if I shared them with them as a practice run?’
They Became Part of My Talk
‘To my amazement, they thought this was a great idea and sat there enthralled as this proud dad stood before them and shared how beautiful his daughter was as a baby and the mischief she got up to in the kitchen as a toddler! They loved my stories of the ‘testing times’ of her teenage years and how I came to love and respect the man she had chosen to spend her life with.’
‘Before long, I’d forgotten I was giving a speech and was conversing comfortably with these friendly people. They’d become part of my talk and were right there at the reception with me! When I invited them to stand and join me in a toast to the bride and groom, they eagerly did so, applauded me warmly, and wished me all the best. I felt liberated!’
‘This spontaneous experience in this little restaurant worked absolute wonders for my public speaking confidence. From that moment on, I stopped telling myself that I was a hopeless public speaker and that only those with a special “gift” could do it. I now had undeniable proof that this was a myth and I had my very own template of speaking success against which to measure myself! All I had to do was connect with the warmth of the wedding guests and converse with them as I’d done in front of this group of friendly strangers. And that’s exactly what happened at my daughter’s wedding, and it was wonderful!’
So William’s message is simple: We have to face that which we fear most to discover it wasn’t so scary after all.
These tried-and-proven public speaking tips reflect the exciting outcomes embodied in my second edition best-selling classic book, ‘How to take the Panic out of Public Speaking.’
© Laurie Smale Inspirational Speaker, Speaking Coach, and Author
ARTICLE // Father’s Try-Out Wedding Speech to Daughter
By Laurie Smale, Author 🎤
Read about the story of a client of mine who was very nervous about the wedding speech he had prepared for his daughter’s upcoming wedding and how a group of strangers gave him the practice he needed.
Read all the details at https://lauriesmale.com/blog/article-fathers-try-out-wedding-speech-to-daughter
All of my practical coaching wisdom is in my three books available at https://lauriesmale.com/books
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