back on the public speaking grind

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

this publication is a place for me to reflect on productivity, health and tech, and drop unique opportunities in the space right to your inbox daily. if you’re new here, sign up to tune in! 💌 

scroll to the end for my daily roundup on unique opportunities!

onto today’s topic: back on the public speaking grind 🗣️ 

i forgot how much i love talking to an audience. traveling doesn’t give you many opportunities for that LOL.

today, i had the coolest opportunity to speak on a panel for sap concur’s webinar for ai in businesses. i was surprised by the turnout of 1200+ registrants, but had a blast speaking about talent acquisition and the importance of ai education in schools. 🏫 

i’m a bit of a yapper, so i enjoy speaking spontaneously when questions come up and a discussion is due. when my talks are super rehearsed, i don’t enjoy them as much. i’d also extend this as a piece of advice for any of you doing any sort of public speaking: have key points ready, but not exact sentences. an audience is always engaged when you sound natural and more importantly, human.

i had another short opportunity to warm up my speaking skills last week at the kite research institute for a women in stem event. the hosts held an impromptu pitch session where anyone could present on the spot about a project they’ve worked on. i thought, “why not?” and fell into the rhythm of storytelling with a problem at the hook.

one area i need to improve upon with my public speaking though is my pacing. i tend to speak faster than i should, so i need to work on slowing down my sentences and leaving certain statements hanging in the air. 🔈️ 

mixing in relatability, statistics, and a narrative might feel like too tall of a task to do spontaneously, but i promise when you truly know what you’re talking about and enjoy talking about it, it’ll come naturally. even if it doesn’t, practice until it does.

pitch an idea to a friend every day and see how you grow more comfortable!

daily opportunity + resource drops 🔍️