My Public Speaking Nightmare

I’d only ever seen it happen in the movies. You open your mouth to speak, and nothing comes out. Then, it happened to me.

It was 2013; I was in grad school at Harvard, presenting in front of an auditorium full of my peers, each face staring down at me from stadium-style seats. I had rehearsed the entire presentation until it felt like second nature—or so I thought. A few tech glitches later, my nerves took over. My mouth opened, but no words came out. It felt like a bad dream.

My most formative public speaking experience is a far cry from Sara's 4th grade persuasive speech she wrote about last month for which she earned a pink ribbon, isn’t it?

I don’t share this story to scare you. We already know how common public speaking anxiety is. It's one of the top workplace fears, yet it’s essential for career advancement. Confident public speakers stand out, make an impact, and get promoted. On the flip side, fear of public speaking can hold otherwise exceptional employees back. That's why “executive presence” is one of the most sought-after skills by the companies we partner with.

It's also the reason behind this month’s 29th Gift—our series where we offer something special around the 29th of each month in honor of Leap Year.

This Month’s 29th Gift

We’re excited to introduce our Ai-powered Pitch Coach, built around the 5-part pitch structure by narrative strategist Andy Raskin. This framework is simple yet powerful for creating compelling pitches. It breaks down like this:

Using this structure, our Pitch Coach will help you craft and refine your presentations and give you real-time feedback. Think of it as your personal presentation coach, available whenever you need a boost.

From Crafting to Delivering Pitches

After using the Pitch Coach to precisely craft your words, it’s tempting to memorize every line. But trust me, that’s a trap. It’s where I went wrong at Harvard—I forgot my first line, and it all unraveled.

The Pitch Coach can help by guiding you to create bullet points instead of full sentences, so you’ll be less inclined to memorize.

Another tip? Write the pitch, then set it aside and talk through each section aloud to yourself, a friend, or a family member. I like to explain each part to my 90-year-old imaginary Uncle Lou. He’s sharp, but he doesn’t know much about my work, so I’m forced to focus on my key points and ditch the jargon.

Focus on understanding the purpose behind each part of your presentation, and you’ll be ready to speak with ease. Confidence comes from knowing your material, not reciting it word-for-word.

Ready to get started?

Give our Pitch Coach a try! It’s an early version, so we’d love your feedback. Feel free to send us a message and let us know what you think.