He had spoken to presidents.

He led one of Africa’s largest banks.

He was Africa's youngest CEO.. he's still a CEO.

And yet when it came to certain high-stakes moments, he still felt that familiar thing happen.

The nerves.

The pressure.

That feeling that somehow, despite everything he had accomplished, he might not come across the way he wanted to.

That story matters to me because it kills one of the biggest myths about public speaking anxiety.

You would think that the more successful you become, the more this problem should disappear:

More experience.

More credentials.

More meetings.

More presentations.

More people listening to you.

Eventually, one day, you should just become confident.

Right?

Except that’s not always what happens.

I’ve seen people with decades of experience walk into a room and suddenly feel like they’re 19 again.

And that’s the part i want you to think about.

If you’re struggling with this, it doesn’t mean you’re inexperienced.

Or you’re not smart enough.

Or you’re bad at communicating.

And it definitely doesn’t mean you need to become a completely different person by faking it.

Sometimes.. the room in front of you is simply waking up something that has been there for a very long time.

That’s why I don’t start with, “Let’s work on your presentation delivery”

I want to know what happens before the presentation becomes a problem:

• What do you start telling yourself?
• What are you afraid people will see or negatively judge?
• What would it mean if your voice shook?
• What would it mean if you forgot your words or stumble?
• What would it mean if someone challenged you and you didn't have the perfect answer?

Because those questions can tell us a lot more than another hour of practicing your slides and learning to remove fillers.

This is one of the biggest things I learned the hard way.

I spent years trying to become a better speaker:

I practiced.

I joined Toastmasters.

I worked on my American accent.

I prepared more - sometimes even over prepared.

And I still froze when stakes rose.

The breakthrough wasn't becoming better at speaking...

it was understanding what was happening underneath it.

That’s what i mean when i say Root Before Skill.

Your expertise isn’t the bottleneck.

And if you’ve been successful everywhere else in your life but still feel strangely stuck when the stakes get high, there may be a very good reason.

You may not need another speaking technique.

You may need to find the room underneath the room.

If you’ve done everything you’re supposed to do and it’s still there, reply to this email and tell me what happens when the pressure hits.

(I’ll read it and reply to make it clearer for you)

-waqas

Root Before Skill

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