𝐈 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐘𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩

Last month, I wrote about moderating a book club session for the first time. I haven’t attended every single book club or entrepreneur workshop session, but I’ve gone enough to feel familiar with the space and the people. It’s usually a small group, around ten people, and over time it started to feel comfortable.

Moderating that session wasn’t a huge dramatic milestone. It was simply me stepping a little outside my usual role. Instead of just sharing my thoughts, I had to guide the discussion, manage the flow, and make sure everyone had space to speak. It stretched me just enough to feel meaningful.

After that, I didn’t expect anything else.

But then the organizer of the book club and the entrepreneur workshop reached out and asked if I would be interested in leading a public speaking workshop.

He gave me two options: March 14 or April 11.

At the time, choosing March felt simple and natural, and I didn’t think too much about it. It felt like momentum. Later, I realized I also have a major cohort presentation that same week, and if I had known that earlier, I probably would have picked April. But by then, it was already confirmed.

And honestly, that’s life sometimes.

Opportunities don’t always arrive neatly spaced out. They overlap. They stretch you. They test your time management and your energy.

My first reaction to the invitation wasn’t fear. It was excitement. I genuinely felt happy about it. The audience is usually small, and I already recognize many of the faces. That makes it feel less like a performance and more like a conversation in a safe space.

Still, I said something almost immediately.

“I just want to make sure you know… I’m not an expert.”

I wanted to be transparent. I’m still learning public speaking. I still adjust my slides. I’m still improving little by little. I didn’t want to present myself as someone who has mastered something I’m actively practicing.

And then he said something simple: “You have courage. You’re not afraid to take action.”

That gave me a different perspective.

Because while I may not be an expert, I do show up.

I volunteer to speak even when it would be easier to stay quiet. I join Toastmasters meetings even on busy weeks. I take feedback seriously. I try again after speeches that didn’t go the way I imagined. I raise my hand when there’s an opportunity.

And that pattern matters more than I realized.

None of those moments felt big on their own. They were small decisions. Small acts of choosing growth instead of comfort. But over time, those small choices started building something. Not perfection. Not mastery. Just familiarity. Just progress.

That mindset is exactly why I chose the title, 𝐀 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜.

Not how to be perfect.
Not how to eliminate nerves.
Not how to dominate a stage.

Just comfortably.

Because in my experience, comfort doesn’t come before you start speaking. It comes after repetition. It comes after doing it enough times that your body and mind slowly realize you’re safe. It comes after surviving the awkward pauses, the slightly shaky voice, and the moments where you lose your train of thought but still recover.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭.

This workshop isn’t about me standing at the front of the room pretending I’ve figured everything out. It’s about creating a space where beginners can practice without feeling judged. It’s about saying out loud that nerves are normal, that growth is gradual, and that courage often comes before confidence.

It’s going to be a full week. The workshop and the cohort presentation will sit side by side on my calendar. It wasn’t planned that way, but here we are.

Instead of seeing it as bad timing, I’m choosing to see it as growth.

I used to think I needed to feel fully confident before stepping into opportunities like this. Now I see that it doesn’t work that way. You say yes first. You prepare seriously. You adjust when things overlap. And somewhere in that process, you grow.

I won’t walk into that room as a public speaking expert. I’ll walk in as someone who said yes, still learning and committed to creating a space where beginners can grow without pressure.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡.

Because sometimes the next step doesn’t require perfect timing.

𝐈𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐬.