My First Public Speaking Gig

[Consept]

So a while i joined a panel that looked at ways to get more black and ethnic people into seeking support for OCD. The stat in the UK anyway is that Black people are the most likely to have a mental health condition but the least likely to seek help, as someone whos experienced this I feel its on me to provide a perspective on it and help where i can. 

The conference that im speaking it as a national OCD conference and there were a lot of great speakers there, psychedelics was even covered by Dr Nutt as a potential treatment for OCD which I found very interesting and there was another talk about lifestyle and how that affects mental health. All in all it was a great experience. 

I would love to get some feedback from you guys as this is the fist time ive spoken on a stage like this, it was definitely nerve wracking before. So any opinions on the subject matter would be great but also any thoughts on how i came across as a speaker or what i can improve upon and of course if you could like the video that would be good (its not my channel but just to help with awareness). This is something i would love to do more of as well so i would like to improve as much as i can. (i havent watched it yet as it feels a bit weird watching myself)

FYI im the one closest to the host on the left 

 

[Yimpa]

I don’t really have public speaking experience (but I do have experience with OCD). So I just wanted to say kudos for putting yourself out there! You’re helping spread awareness about a condition that has far too many misconceptions (even by most therapists since most aren’t OCD specialists).

15 minutes ago, Consept said:

This is something i would love to do more of as well so i would like to improve as much as i can. (i havent watched it yet as it feels a bit weird watching myself)

Watching that video is also an ERP opportunity  

[rachMiel]

I thought you did a good job, were simpatico, clear, and engaging. The only thing I'd suggest that might improve your public speaking is to do some training with good vocal teacher to strengthen your voice, volume and tone, it was a bit challenging at times to hear you and it sounds like you may have been straining your voice to be audible? 

[Princess Arabia]

2 hours ago, Consept said:

covered by Dr Nutt

Funny how a doctor by the name Dr. Nutt deals with mental health issues. Just a little humor on my part, not calling mental health patients nuts.

[Consept]

4 hours ago, Yimpa said:

I don’t really have public speaking experience (but I do have experience with OCD). So I just wanted to say kudos for putting yourself out there! You’re helping spread awareness about a condition that has far too many misconceptions (even by most therapists since most aren’t OCD specialists).

Watching that video is also an ERP opportunity  

Thank you bro, yeah there are tons of misconceptions, lots of people had stories about being misdiagnosed, so its definitely a great cause and happy ive got the opportunity to get involved with helping! Yeah i should get some erp going by watching it im going to put clips of it in a youtube vid im doing so i will need to at some point anyway 

2 hours ago, rachMiel said:

I thought you did a good job, were simpatico, clear, and engaging. The only thing I'd suggest that might improve your public speaking is to do some training with good vocal teacher to strengthen your voice, volume and tone, it was a bit challenging at times to hear you and it sounds like you may have been straining your voice to be audible? 

Thanks for the feedback, yeah i sometimes feel i have to strain, its something ive had to work on and need to work on more. It probably comes from not wanting to be heard when i was a kid, partly because of OCD and confidence issues. Now i feel a lot more confident but need to work on my voice projection so thanks for highlighting that 

2 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

Funny how a doctor by the name Dr. Nutt deals with mental health issues. Just a little humor on my part, not calling mental health patients nuts.

The irony isnt lost on us, hes usually talks about stuff thats against mainstream thinking to do with drugs so when they dont agree with him they definitely point out that Nutt is an accurate name  I think hes great though 

[Yimpa]

18 hours ago, Consept said:

It probably comes from not wanting to be heard when i was a kid, partly because of OCD and confidence issues.

And now you’re surrounding yourself with those who are receptive and open to having dialogue with you!

I tend to have this rule / fear in my head that every social situation will have the same risk of rejection that I received when I was younger, so avoiding them is the solution to never being abused again. However, this rule simply isn’t true when put to the test. Gradually exposing myself to all different kinds of social interactions helps break that rigid wall I’ve built for over a decade. I realize now that I’m actually rejecting and hurting myself by maintaining that wall.

—-

Here’s a fun recontexualization tying in with this!

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Yimpa

[Consept]

@Yimpa

Definitely man, you know when i was 14 i had to do a presentation in front of my class at school. I choose to do it on hip-hop music as I really loved it at the time. I prepared for ages and thought about it constantly. I got up in front of the class and pretty much froze, I couldn't say anything, it was a horrible experience and I thought, this is just something I can't do, so I know what you mean in terms of having that wall. 

But the last few years of done the odd thing that's really pushed me and what I found is the more you do these things the more reference experience you have. So when something comes up you just think 'well I did that other thing so I know I can do this'. In the last few months of sang in a bar in front of a crowd, done this speaking thing and then also recorded an interview with them. Its genuinely amazing how you can switch your mindset just be testing your beliefs  now I actually enjoy these things, they are still a test but I like the challenge. So for you I would say check the integrity of your walls and you'll be shocked at how weak they actually are