Renovate Your Speaking Skills

Shannon Malkin Daniels
Jun 2
2 min read

For the past several months, the office building I work out of has been under construction. It's getting a makeover — new flooring, lighter brighter paint and wall coverings, updated lobby and lighting — to help make it more modern and inviting.

I've been walking down this hallway every day, watching as it goes through various stages of disarray and slowly transforms into something beautiful.

As I walked the hallway, a thought struck me. I didn’t just see a building under construction, I saw the parallels between the hallway and the work I do with my clients every day. I heard the reminders I share constantly:

🔨 You are a work in progress.

🌖 Change doesn’t come overnight.

⏰ It takes time and effort to dismantle limiting beliefs, build your confidence and master new skills.

🫶 Don’t beat yourself up as you go through this process.

When it comes to public speaking, it’s important to keep this in mind and remind yourself that:

🎤 Public speaking is about connection, not perfection. Let go of the pressure to be a “perfect” speaker. Focus instead on being authentically you and sharing a message your audience can truly connect with.

🏀 Practice makes permanent. Just like playing a sport, you’re not going to master it the first time you step in front of an audience. It takes time, consistency and repetition to build your confidence and skill.

So you see, much like this hallway I’ve watched go through various stages of construction, we go through those stages too. Some of them aren’t so pretty, and that’s OKAY. Real transformation requires tearing down limiting beliefs and outdated habits to make space for a stronger mindset and new skills.

If you’re in the process of learning something new, making a major change or rebuilding, let this be your reminder that progress can be messy. You've gotta go through your construction phase before you can enjoy the finished product.

Focus on the end result, not the construction. Because when you focus on the mess, it can derail you from the beauty of the outcome you're aiming for.

What part of your life or business is "under construction," and what's the vision you're building toward?

Speak Success,