How to defeat self-doubt as a presenter 

October 4, 2021

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will”

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will” This is a quote from Suzy Kassem. Meaning people give up before they even get started.

Self-doubt can be that troubling and persuasive voice that holds you back from seizing your opportunities. When you have a new idea, new business or start a new career, often you might start thinking about all the difficulties, doubt and self criticism can set in which can sidetrack from you from your objectives, it can make you think you’re not good enough, not qualified enough, not experienced enough and so on, and may lead to to or even to give up. This is often the case when we see new presenters enter the industry or even presenters who have some experience and are looking to progress their career further.

When you have any self-doubt, your mind believes what you feel and think and you will start to program yourself that your dreams are impossible to achieve. You may even think that you’ll likely fail, but failure can be positive it it’s used to help motivate you to try harder so that you succeed the next time. Each time you fail, you become stronger and you will eventually succeed at your goals and dreams.

Here are some tips to help with self-doubt:

Write it down

When you get a new idea or have a new goal write it down along with all the good things, bad things and possibilities. Don’t focus on the negatives, instead turn these into mini challenges and look for ways to overcome these. Keep a journal so you can follow your progress. 

Let go of past failures

The most successful people in the world often have a long list of failures in their past. But they are confident to keep going. If you look at the most successful people in the world, you will see they have no fear of failure.You might have failed yourself or let someone down in the past. If you have done everything you can to rectify the situation and you still feel stuck, it is time to forgive yourself and move on. “Your past does not equal your future” is a popular quote by Tony Robbins. Basketball player Michael Jordan failed miserably before he made it to the top. At high school, at 5 feet 11 inches, he was deemed too short to play for the school team and his coach said that he lacked the skills and finesse of a real basketball player. But he began an intense training program the very next day and didn’t stop till he made history.

Remember your past achievements

Remember your past achievements, write these down and remember how you felt. By doing this it will remind you of your capabilities

Don’t compare yourself to others

Everyone’s journey and ideas of success are different. You can only control and focus on your own path.

Forget what everyone else is thinking about you!

Worrying about what other people think of you will hinder you. You might then think it’s better to do nothing and not get judged than to do something and risk any criticism. Ignoring what other people think of you will continue to hold you back from obtaining your goals and success. “Watch Defining Success and Not Caring What Other People Think” by Kenji Yoshino.

Spend time with supportive people

The people you hang out with will either fuel your self-doubt or fuel your confidence so surround yourself with positive likeminded people and try and stay away from negative ones. Often the people who try and sabotage your dream are often stuck in their own fear.

Don’t tell anyone your plans

Not only as we mentioned above some people may try and sabotage them but watch “Keep Your Goals To Yourself,” one of the most watched TED presentations by professional musician and entrepreneur Derek Sivers which tells us that psychology studies have shown, when we tell someone our goals, and they acknowledge it, we are less likely to do the work needed to accomplish the goal. Since our brains confuse talking with doing, the satisfaction we experience when we tell anyone our goals or ambitions we often lose motivation to follow through and make it happen. 

Get more practice

Often it’s not just enough to know what to do; you must also apply and practice what you have learned. The more you do it, the better you’ll get. First, you must learn it by reading or listening to others who know how to do it. Then you must practice actually doing it. Then do some more. At this point, you’ll start to understand it, but you’ll suck. This stage could take a few months, but then after a couple of years, you’ll get good at it but if you keep going and do more and aren’t afraid to make mistakes and learn from them, you’ll then go from good to great. To become great at something, it can take anywhere from 5-10 years, depending on how often and how much you do it. Some estimate that it takes around 10,000 hours to master something, but it varies from person to person and depends on the skill and other factors.

Experience feelings of gratitude

Positive thoughts are generated by experiencing feelings of gratitude. When you‘re feeling positive, you‘re feeling good. And when you‘re feeling good, you’re experiencing good things. Have a set of mantras that you can repeat whenever you doubt myself.

Invest in a coach

Don’t be afraid to get some help from a trusted professional coach, not only will they help you gain greater clarity around your purpose and goals, but they will help you better equip to work through solutions to specific problems.