Public speaking

Twenty-one per cent of Brits say they hate public speaking and will actively avoid it.

I'd always felt this way too, but with a nagging feeling that I'm holding myself back. I have lots of ideas. Why should I only express myself in writing? Especially now writing is so easily scraped, stolen and rehashed.

No-one thanks you for sitting quietly in the background. I have a voice that I can use not just for myself, but to advocate for others.

So, resolving to tackle my fear in 2025, I signed up for a twelve-week public speaking class at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) here in Birmingham.

The tutor, Anna Piper, created a gentle, inclusive and fun space for our group to get to know one another and get used to speaking out loud: sometimes in a rehearsed way, sometimes off the cuff.

Anna is an actor and performer. She borrowed from various disciplines within her own training - acting, improvisation and even clowning - to set us games and activities that exposed us to speaking aloud, being attuned to our audience, and generally feeling less silly or self-conscious.

Sometimes by being more silly.

I looked forward so much to our Wednesday evening sessions. I spent most of my time laughing (at myself), and the hour flew.

I really liked my course mates. In the first session we each shared our reasons for signing up and it seemed everyone had a similar motivation. Not 'I want to be a TEDTalker or a toastmaster' (although some definitely could and should go far with their speaking) but like me: 'I just want, when someone asks me to say something out loud in a public setting, not to wish for spontaneous combustion'.

I'm glad to be keeping in touch with several of them. We're planning to tackle improv next.

The course ended in April 2025 with a final performance in the MAC's Hexagon Theatre. I'd prepared a short speech about the joy of writing by hand. I didn't feel overly nervous when it came to my turn: more excited about putting my new-found skills to the test. I enjoyed the adrenaline rush and found I took energy and encouragement from my audience.

My course mates were brilliant: I felt proud of them, as well as of myself.

And now I want to ask: what have you done lately that previously lived in your mind (or body!) between fear and excitement?

Because I definitely feel that's where, in life and work, the most important growth happens.