This was the greatest challenge I had faced so far…

Two weeks ago I faced the greatest challenge in my speaking career. I’m someone who is always up for a challenge. I’ve done a lot of extreme sports in my life like sky diving, rappelling over a 100ft gorge and careened down class five rapids. But this was an experience that topped all that.

They say that what people fear most is not death. Nor is it heights, spiders or snakes. No, the top rated fear is the fear of public speaking. Putting it this way when asked, people would rather die then deliver the eulogy. Well try speaking in a foreign country where no one speaks your language and everything you are saying is being interpreted by someone else. This was the challenge I faced.

I was invited to speak at the Asian Fitness Conference in Beijing, China. I knew before I left Canadian soil that I was going to be pushed beyond my comfort zone with this engagement. It’s one of the reasons I applied. As hard as I tried to prepare and research for the event before hand there’s nothing like the experience to teach you what you really need to know.

I love public speaking. I thrive on audience interaction. I use lots of humour, stories and analogies to make my lessons stick. I throw my body into the presentation and every now and again I feel like I’m being transported to another plane of existence where I have an almost out-of-body experience because I’m just in the zone.

This was not the experience I had in China. Instead my palms were sweaty. I was nervous, apprehensive and second guessing everything I prepared. I was standing in the lecture hall with a room full of eager, young students all waiting for me to share my knowledge, experience and words of wisdom and I was terrified. Would I be able to connect with the students? Would the information I was providing be applicable in China? Was it relevant to where they are now in their growth in the fitness industry?  I had no idea and that’s what terrified me.

I spoke my first few prepared sentences with the only English speaking person in the room, my interpreter. He listened patiently trying to capture the meaning of my words and then turned to the audience to repeat them as best he could.  I would say a few sentences being careful not to get too far ahead of myself and then he would translate. We danced back and forth in this awkward dialogue for ninety minutes.

With so much time between speaking and translation I started to feel a sense of panic and self doubt. I looked around the room and was sure the audience was bored stiff. At one point it felt like time had stood still. I got lost in negative thoughts swooning around in my head like a big, dark cloud. I had to somehow continue but my instinct to run and hide was very strong. How was I going to turn things around and get through the presentation and deliver the content that they were so eagerly expecting?

Then it hit me. Three little words that seemingly came from out of know where. They kept repeating themselves over and over in my head like a broken record. The words were so loud they were practically screaming at me and I had no choice but to listen. In the end, they are what saved me from complete disaster and the paralysis of being in my head.

JUST KEEP SWIMMING, SWIMMING, SWIMMING

I couldn’t believe it. The words from the movie Nemo swirled in my head. Where did come from? I understood what they meant for little Nemo and his quest to break free from the comfort and safety of the reef and head out into the open ocean, the great unknown. Now these words had somehow popped into my head and were trying to comfort me.

JUST KEEP SWIMMING, SWIMMING, SWIMMING

As I continued the presentation I broke free from the spot where I had started to take root and began to relax. I made a conscious effort to loosen up my body. I decided to deliver the presentation as if my audience could understand every word I was saying. I used my body to express myself even more then I usually did. I felt a smile break across my face and the audience responded by smiling back. I kept swimming through the presentation, pressing forward and conveying my message through my actions and you know what? it worked. I had managed to keep my head above water and in the end sailed to victory with my audience on board.

When I say that presenting in China was my greatest speaking challenge to date I’m not kidding. It taught me that you don’t need words to communicate a message, you need passion. When you have passion it doesn’t matter what language you speak because people can pick up on your passionate vibe. All we need to do is just keep swimming, swimming, swimming when faced with challenges. Don’t head back down stream just because there’s less resistance but continue to propel yourself forward and meet those challenges head on.

The next time you find yourself in a tough situation, keep repeating over and over again, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming and you will find the courage and strength you need to succeed. I can’t wait to go back next year and deliver an even better presentation.