People often ask why we’re called Kissing With Confidence. It’s after the 80’s song of the same name, which details how, in relation to your first kiss, your stomach churns and your knees knock. We started out doing public speaking training, where the prelude for many people to a gig – big or small – is a small modernist symphony of knee-knocking, even for the experienced ones.
I count myself as one of those experienced people, however on the night of my first Kissing With Confidence Big Gig I was quite frankly terrified! Why? It was my first event as a new member of the team, never mind first large audience gig. Sharon and Matthew (our Managing Director and Client Services Manager respectively) were in the audience. Expectations were high from them.
I was speaking to 150 students at a University; a mix of under-graduate and post-graduate, they were all studying something with an element of entrepreneurship in it. They were an internationally diverse audience (cue worry of “Will anyone understand my accent, given that even on a good day my husband only gets about 50% of what I’m saying). Expectations were high from them also. My colleagues had delivered there in previous years and were regarded as the best thing since sliced bread. Pressure! That said, I absolutely loved it. They were a great audience – loads of participation, lots of questions and a brilliant attitude. But the key thing for me was that I had done an incredible amount of preparation. I knew my stuff. I’d practised and practised. Which meant that I could make it look spontaneous (it rarely is) and relaxed – which I eventually started to feel.
Our CEO, Russell, is always saying that there’s no way you could do this job unless you absolutely love it, and he’s right. Delivering a big gig is brilliant but risky if not thought through well. Most people are thinking “I’m glad I’m not the one up there” but we’re thinking the opposite. It’s a privilege, a pleasure… and a real buzz!
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about the author
Nicky Denegri is our Senior Consultant. If you would like to know more about this subject, drop her an email and we will be in touch.
