One idea a week to help you teach and present with more clarity, confidence, and calm. No fluff. No scripts. Just practical tools that land.
What a 39.5°C fever taught me about public speaking
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Some talks change the audience. Some change the speaker. 💡 ONE IDEA WELLWhat does it take to deliver a talk when your body is fighting you? In 2017, I stepped onto the stage at DFTB17 in Brisbane to deliver my first keynote. My shirt was soaked. My heart was pounding. But it wasn’t nerves - it was a 39.5°C fever. The talk was deeply personal - about mental health in medicine, including my own struggles. I had rehearsed it more times than I could count. Every beat, every pause, every transition was mapped. So when the lights went up, something surprising happened: I didn’t freeze. As psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes it: “People become so involved in what they are doing that the activity becomes spontaneous, almost automatic; they stop being aware of themselves as separate from the actions they are performing.” That’s how it felt. Flow isn’t about perfection. “What people enjoy is not the sense of being in control, but the sense of exercising control in difficult situations.” This talk - “The Road Not Taken” - is still one of the most meaningful I’ve ever given. Not just for the message, but for what it taught me: Do the work. Then trust yourself to show up - fever or not. 🧰 LESS MESS, MORE MESSAGEWant to feel calmer on stage? Rehearse out loud. But standing. Speaking. Timing yourself. I used to rehearse while running. If I could remember my words with a heart rate of 150, I figured I’d be fine when it spiked from adrenaline. Think of it as fireproofing your talk. So even if tech fails, your voice won’t. 🧭 ASK YOURSELF THISWhat would it take for me to feel ready to give this talk? |
TEACHING ISN’T A SCRIPT. NEITHER IS THIS.
One idea a week to help you teach and present with more clarity, confidence, and calm. No fluff. No scripts. Just practical tools that land.
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