Conquering Public Speaking Anxiety in High-Stakes Corporate Meetings:

Client Spotlight Interview with Edison Odeghe

Victoria: 

My guest today is Edison Odeghe. Edison was a student of mine inside Brilliant Speakers Academy a couple of years ago, and I am very happy to invite him to my show to talk about his experience inside the program and also to share how his life has changed after he was able to conquer his fear of public speaking.

Edison is a technical systems and engineering director at Procter & Gamble's largest manufacturing facility in West Virginia. He's a graduate of mechanical engineering and also holds an MBA. He has over 14 years of experience in project management, engineering, and manufacturing. He's been leading the planning and execution of critical engineering projects at manufacturing facilities for Procter & Gamble across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and North America.

Please welcome Edison Odeghe to my show. Why did you decide to join Brilliant Speakers Academy? What did you struggle with and why was finding the solution to your challenges important to you?

Edison:

I think for me, I realized that I had been doing public speaking for a long time. As a matter of fact, in my childhood days when I was in elementary and high school, I used to be a leader in my class, and I always spoke to my class team. I always stood in front of people, and I spoke in front of people.

But at certain page in my life, I realized that I was starting to grow a lot from a career perspective. I was having to do a lot of public speaking, not just in front of people that I'm familiar with or that will take instructions from me, but from people who I have to convince and people who I've never met before. That started to get under my skin and started to make me uncomfortable to speak.

I thought it was time to do something about public speaking and see how I can hone my skills and up-skill myself in that area transparently. Before I came to Brilliant Speakers Academy, I had a very embarrassing experience. I was told just the day before a very major review with a very, very high placed person in the company that I was going to lead the session because the person who was originally intended to do it was going to be on vacation and was not going to be available.

What really got to me when I got into the meeting was when I turned on my Zoom, the amount of people I saw on the Zoom and their levels of responsibility in the company just completely took me off guard. I completely lost what I was about to say, and I was speechless when it was time for me to talk. I was right in front of a video, which was a very embarrassing experience.

Victoria: 

Why did you choose Brilliant Speakers Academy over other things, and what else have you tried, what else have you considered?

Edison:

I had a very good manager who encouraged me to watch some videos on TED Talk. I did that. I watched a couple of people and how they presented their message, but it appeared to me that not all of that was natural. A TED Talk something that people had good time and opportunity to prepare for so they could basically repeat what they had tried multiple times to learn.

My case was very different. My case was that many times I had to walk into rooms unprepared for such meetings, and I had to present the message in a very concise and impactful way and still be able to deliver the content. I had to present in a very refined way and sound like one of the senior people that I typically will meet in the room. So, I was looking for someone who was going to listen to me, talk with me, and really understand my point of view. I wanted the opportunity to do a couple of trials with them, and then I could bounce a couple of ideas off them.

I wanted a medium where I could interact with whoever was my coach. Brilliant Speakers Academy provided that option where Victoria was willing to have sessions with me and talk with me about what exactly makes you feel uncomfortable speaking publicly. She would suggest a couple of things to try or say here are a couple of tips, have you tried this and have you tried that? I felt that personal connection and that one-on-one coaching made a big difference. That's why I came to Brilliant Speakers Academy.

Some of the things I learned were about things that happened in the mind. That was very powerful. You spoke about how the mind thinks and how you can win in the mind when it comes to public speaking. How you can overcome some of those fears that are on the inside and some of those inside voices. So those were very, very powerful things that were in the content and in the curriculum of Brilliant Speakers Academy. They helped me deal with the fear because I realized over time that everybody has an element of anxiety when it comes to public speaking.

Another portion of your Academy that was very helpful was how to prepare for your speaking event. Preparing does not only make you speak well as a public speaker, but it also gives you the confidence you need before you get on the stage. It gives you the confidence you need before you get to an event. Usually, what constrains you from being an effective public speaker is not the fact that you don't know your content, but it's just the fear that you're not ready to actually share. Dealing with those things before really lets you become an effective speaker. Those were some of the things that Brilliant Speakers Academy taught from their curriculum. This was very good for me.

Victoria: 

Thank you so much. Let's talk about now, two years later. How is your life and your career different based on what you've learned inside of Brilliant Speakers Academy? How did that change your life?

Edison:

It's completely different today. I feel like I can walk into any room and share my experiences because first, just like Brilliant Speakers Academy has taught me, I have learned to deal with my inner fears. I’ve learned to take care of the anxieties that come into my head and into my mind about what I'm about to say. I feel confident about what I'm about to say.

If I'm not able to present my content well, I'm more than happy to ask if people have questions. That way I can answer their specific questions or meet their specific needs before I leave versus leaving and feeling like I did not meet their needs. I feel confident asking them a question like please clarify what you wanted to know. Is there something more you would like to know so that I can share a little bit more? I feel confident asking those questions now, and that has significantly helped me in speaking.

Beyond that, it's been a very good journey. I have learned a little bit more to prepare. One of the things the Brilliant Speakers Academy taught was about the content of what you were going to talk about, knowing the content of what you were going to talk about. I spend a lot more time on the content of whatever I need to talk about because my role is fairly technical. I spend a lot more time understanding the technical details of my work. That gives me confidence such that if you wake me up anytime and you ask me to give a speech on any part of anything I'm working on, I feel very comfortable talking about it.

Just like this podcast, it's like a story. It's like storytelling to me. I feel very relaxed, and I can just tell the story. I'm sure that when I do, people can get the message. It's been completely life changing.

Victoria: 

Thank you so much. And one last question for you, if someone was on the fence about joining Brilliant Speakers Academy, what would you say to them?

Edison:

I would say get on board for many reasons. One, I think the program is fantastic because the content is very powerful. The fact that you can speak to Victoria on a regular basis is awesome. The fact that you could be very open, feel like you can share anything about yourself, and feel like it's a safe place to do that is great.

The fact that you're not reading a book and just trying to imagine how the person did it, but you're talking to the person who actually wrote the content. You can ask her questions about whether this means this or that means that, or if I do it this way, does it really mean I'm getting it right? It gives you that opportunity to interact and ask questions which is great.

Victoria: 

I am so proud of you, Edison. I'm always so excited to talk to my clients from a year ago, from two years ago, from three years ago, just to see what you're doing and how your life has changed. It makes me feel so grateful to be doing what I'm doing because I see the real result. I see the life-changing results in people, and that makes me feel so good about what I do every single day. So, thank you. Thank you so much.