The Fearless Speakers' Programme

The Fearless Speakers' Programme is designed to foster a welcoming, supportive environment. Entry into a Fearless Speakers' Programme cohort is by application only which means you can be assured that everyone in your group is committed to supporting your growth and the growth of the group. When you log onto the initial orientation call, you are not quite sure what to expect. There is a little hesitancy and politeness but you are soon put at ease by the warmth of the leaders and feel reassured by the explanations you receive about what’s to come. You start to feel excited and look forward to the rest of the programme. You are given some homework that helps you really hone your key message and you feel a sense of excitement as you come together and share your ideas in the second orientation call. A few weeks later, when you arrive at the two day workshop, you are greeted with warm smiles from the workshop leaders and invited into a funky, inspiring space which instantly gets your creative juices flowing. In the training room, you find like-minded people who want to make a positive difference in the world. You get to know each other and share light but supportive conversation that instantly puts you at ease and lets you know that these are ‘your people’. After some initial improv exercises which lift the energy in the rrom, you sit in a welcoming circle and soon find yourself feeling rejuvenated and inspired by simple techniques you can use to build your storytelling muscle. You then join in a storytelling circle as, one by one, you share stories from your lives and find that you gain inspiration and insight from each person and each story. In the afternoon, after a nourishing lunch, you break up into smaller groups and begin to share more intimately. You feel trusted and safe in this environment and slowly but surely, the mist and uncertainty you were feeling about your vision starts to fade away. Towards the end of the day, you come to the front of the room and share your key message. It feels amazing to say it out loud and to hear how it ‘lands’ with everyone else in the room. You are invited to share a little more about your message in a ‘mini-talk’ the following day. You feel a slight sense of trepidation but also excitement at the chance of speaking from the heart and beginning the process of developing your signature talk. Having had a restful evening, you start the second day with some more fun, energising games that bring out the playful side in you. You realise that you feel very free and have been given permission to be child-like and silly, which comes as a refreshing change. Feeling lighter, you start to learn about grounding and centring and why it’s important both in helping you feel more confident and less nervous and also in helping your audience feel at ease, knowing they can trust you. You pair up and practise some centring exercises and immediately feel calmer and more grounded. After a tasty lunch, you put your newly-found skills to use, taking it in turns to deliver mini-talks based on your key message. You get amazing feedback from the group on your content and style of delivery and get a really great sense of what your strengths are and what to capitalise on going forward. Over the course of the next couple of months, you have three zoom calls with your new-found buddies every two or three weeks. On each of the calls, you continue strengthening your speaking skills and share your work-in-progress. Everyone on the call is so supportive and you feel held and seen throughout the process. When it gets to the day of your final workshop, you are really excited to see everyone in person again. You share hugs and stories, but you also feel excited to get down to work. This is the last chance to work on your talks before sharing them with a real live audience and you want to make the most of it! You play some more energising improv games to get your juices flowing and practise your centring and grounding. You take it in turns to share your talks and receive some final words of encouragement and feedback. And then it comes to the showcase itself! You see friends and family arrive and you share how you’re feeling. You join your group for a vocal warm up, body energiser and motivational huddle. You’re still feeling nervous but also excited to share and be supported by the rest of the group. You take your place on stage and it feels amazing! You are bowled over by how far you’ve come and are totally energised by the warmth and attention of the audience. As you receive your applause with a bow you realise how grateful you are to have taken this journey with a small group of like-minded amazing individuals.