My Journey to Conquering Public Speaking – Ambassador Blog

Our Ambassador Andrew shares his experiences of public speaking –

When I started at get2gether in September 2017 public speaking was not a fear or a dread it was a just something I had never needed to try. The closest I got to public speaking was telling corny jokes! The laughter in the room is addictive.

My role at get2gether requires that I do public speaking. I said at interview that I would give it a try and true to my word I have. That was the start of my journey.

I have seen Marion, my boss, command a room with her voice, giving a relaxed and engaging talk all from memory.

So I started to prepare for my journey into public speaking. To help me remember what I am going to say I use key words and trigger images on a PowerPoint presentation. I like my buzz phrases – ‘Perfect preparation prevents pretty poor performance!’ –  the 6 Ps of public speaking!

First I spoke to 80 NHS professionals. Then more people in Falkirk. I would say a highlight has been speaking at the Scottish Parliament with an MSP on my right. It was videoed, but I have not been brave enough to watch it myself yet! I have spoken to student nurses at Napier University twice. Through that I gained a working relationship with Natasha, a professor, who then gave me a job. My work with get2gether led me to that opportunity.

It has been a journey I felt I had to travel to succeed as an ambassador. I still get nerves, but by about 90 seconds into my presentation I feel ok. get2gether helps me to prepare for a presentation and I rely on this preparation to give me the confidence to get through.

Being an Ambassador is a modest job, but it makes me feel better as a person knowing that I am helping others too in my own wee simple way… Everyone wins.