The Mind Takeaway Podcast

Embark on a journey to conquer the common yet daunting fear of public speaking in this insightful episode of The Mind Takeaway Podcast, recorded in the heart of Poland's capital, Warsaw. Join us as we delve into the anxieties that shroud the art of oration, from the nervous anticipation to the post-presentation self-critique that can often feel like a hangover from the vulnerability of being exposed to an audience.

Our hosts share their personal battles with the fear of public speaking, revealing how they creatively dodged speaking engagements early in their careers. Despite being comfortable in roles like musicians or DJs, the transition to speaking in front of groups, small or large, presented a unique challenge. But as they peel back the layers of their experiences, we learn that the key to overcoming this fear lies not in avoiding it, but in embracing the discomfort and leaning into vulnerability.

With candid anecdotes, they discuss the transformation from avoidance to anticipation, the strategies they tried (and which ones actually worked), and the realisation that the audience is often more forgiving than we anticipate. Whether it's the fear before taking the stage or the critical self-reflection that follows, they explore how acceptance and presence can turn public speaking from a source of dread to an opportunity for connection and growth.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who's ever felt their voice wobble with nerves or their confidence shaken by the spotlight. Discover how to navigate the fear, build resilience, and perhaps even find joy in the act of sharing your voice with the world. Tune in to this encouraging discussion and remember, as our hosts affirm, no one has ever perished from public speaking – it's all about taking that first step and allowing yourself to be imperfectly human in front of an audience.

Episode Chapters

(00:00) How to overcome the fear of public speaking.

(02:24) Peter and Mira discuss how to overcome the fear of public speaking

(09:44) Mira says being present is vital when giving a public speaking gig

(12:46) Public speaking seems to be a big achilles heel for many people

(18:35) As always, we love to hear what your thoughts and feelings are about this episode

Episode Keywords

Public Speaking, Overcoming Fear, Warsaw, Poland, Performance Anxiety, Communication Skills, Personal Growth, Vulnerability, Stage Fright, Confidence Building, Self-Improvement, Professional Development, Leadership, Speaking Tips, Audience Engagement, Personal Experiences, Mental Resilience, Nlp Techniques, Self-Reflection, Personal Empowerment

In this episode of The Mind Takeaway Podcast, we delve into the intricacies of leadership with the insightful Martin Gutman, a professor at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and author of "The Unseen Leader." Together, we unpack the provocative themes of his book, which Adam Grant praised for its critical look at what history can teach us about effective leadership.

Martin challenges conventional wisdom by questioning the glorification of historical figures like Ernest Shackleton, whose dramatic failures are often overlooked in favour of Hollywood-esque heroism. We contrast this with leaders like Roald Amundsen, whose quiet success and authentic leadership style offer more valuable lessons.

We also explore women's powerful, yet often hidden, influence in leadership through the story of Gertrude Bell, whose strategic brilliance shaped the modern state of Iraq. Despite her significant impact, her contributions remain largely unrecognized—a testament to the gender biases of history.

As we navigate the pitfalls of leadership, such as the busyness trap and the action-oriented bias, we discuss the importance of humility, integrity, and the courage to embrace vulnerability. Martin shares his insights on the future of leadership, emphasising the need for diverse leaders who embody emotional intelligence, strong communication skills, and the ability to foster genuine connections.

This episode is a treasure trove for anyone seeking to understand leadership's true essence beyond conventional narratives' noise and drama. Join us as we redefine leadership for the modern era and consider how unique individuals can experiment and find our path to impactful leadership.

Episode Chapters

(00:43) Adam Grant wrote a lovely introduction to your leadership book

(02:11) Martin says Shackleton is the wrong person to profile in leadership books

(09:00) You write about Gertrude Bell and her excellent leadership

(09:53) Why do we celebrate certain historical leaders and not others?

(13:54) Martin: Leaders should be comfortable being who they are, really

(20:07) Adam Grant says ego stops leaders from learning and being proactive

(25:12) You're looking into some different things when it comes to leadership

(30:47) You mentioned the busyness trap in your book

(34:23) We mentioned loudness and talking, uh, and then we mentioned busyness

(40:57) Peter Schulz: When we look at the leader for the future,

(46:56) Martin will be giving a talk in Berlin at the beginning of next month

(47:49) Running is an experiment of one, and so is leadership, Peter says

Watch Martin's Ted Talk: Are we celebrating the wrong leaders?https://www.ted.com/talks/martin_gutmann_are_we_celebrating_the_wrong_leaders

What do you do first when you start a new leadership position? 

*You want to be efficient and prove to your colleagues that they have made the right decision to hire you. 

*You want to jump into making some changes you see necessary.

That is great, but you also will benefit significantly from building some foundations first, and by foundations, we mean building, cultivating, and developing relationships.

*We also know that some leaders consider building relationships a slow and inefficient process that is not a priority when they join a new company or take on a new role.

By getting to know your colleagues and allowing them to get to know you by building relationships first: 

This episode explores why building relationships first is essential instead of jumping into action and making changes. We share some good examples about building relationships and engaging with your people and some not-so-good stories where leaders got it wrong. 

This episode explores how, over time, our ideas change and evolve.

Takeaway 1: All of the entrepreneurs and founders we have helped or conversed with have changed their minds at least two or three times from their original ideas for their products or services. We all like to be sure about things; we want to know what will happen to prepare ourselves for the future, but that can also be a trap!

Takeaway 2: Changing your mind or pivoting will give you something more viable because you will have more clarity about your ideas than your previous iterations and be more precise on your value proposition.

Takeaway 3: It is only sometimes a good idea to rush to market and get funding for something unless you have spoken to as many people as possible and done your research and testing. Have you noticed that being first to market with a product sometimes means your competitors can leapfrog you, take advantage of your initial ideas, and learn from your mistakes?

We learn, we evolve, and we change.

In this episode, Dan Parry and Jonathan Farrow, co-creators of Journey into Product, a Berlin community for product managers and startups that organises monthly meetups, invited us to a masterclass about what it takes for teams to scale up successfully without the human cost, develop core in-demand leadership skills, and retain your best people. Jonny is also the founder of Orbital Lab, so we explored some of his questions and concerns about the hiring process, seeing as he will be growing his team very soon.

The main takeaways during the conversation:

The fear of making mistakes can affect creativity, collaboration and your ability to trust people and delegate opportunities for growth and learning from their experience.

See also this episode, as this topic links well with the fear of failure.

https://www.themindtakeaway.com/podcast/episode/2e00af6b/micro-episode-44-how-to-overcome-the-fear-of-failure

Irrational Retaliation: When we make decisions from a space of fear, urgency, and frustration, we still have an emotional charge attached to a situation; those decisions are often ones we can come to regret, and there will be learning opportunities.

It's our 50th Micro Episode (our 121st episode), which we recorded for you on location in Bordeaux a few weeks ago!

This new episode explores the importance of being yourself as a leader and at work, as the alternative to being inauthentic takes too much energy when you think you cannot be yourself around others.
Biggest Takeaway:
It takes twice as much energy to wear a mask; it is stressful, and your team cannot properly connect with you on a human level.

How to give feedback is one of the most requested topics for us to unpack when we have conversations with companies about leadership development and when we coach and develop leaders, so we packed a lot of value for you into this 15-minute episode, where we explore how to overcome the challenges of giving feedback.

We talked with K Rajeev Narayan, CEO of Leadership Elements, Inda, about why leaders need to read more books and how investing time into your professional development is a good use of time and will always be a good return on investment in the future.

Experiences are created when we read books and stories about other people's challenges and achievements. Leaders who read more books are wiser, easily connect with others and show a greater ability for empathy.