Overcoming FEAR to present and win speaking awards.

This is a funny story of fear and how I turned the acronym False Evidence Appearing Real into Face Everything and Rise.

My PhD research was accepted to be presented at Charles Darwin University's Higher Degrees by Research conference. Brilliant...until I realised that the day and time I was scheduled for was the day I was flying from Queensland to Hobart, Tasmania, to attend a long coveted four-day retreat with Andrew Griffiths on how to set up a world class speaker business.

DAMN! Worse was that I booked Jetstar, and they are notoriously late or cancel last minute. I was presentation scheduled for just an hour after I was to land, I had a car to pick up and I couldn't book into the hotel until 2pm.

Shit! Panic set in. Fear overtook me.....until I realised that managing my own emotions was well within my hands. Idea: I can swap a presentation time with a later presenter, and I can pre-record my presentation to provide the conference organisers, just in case. By doing this, I bought myself a whole half hour extra time and changed False Evidence Appearing Real into Face Everything and Rise...but my anxiety was still high.

As it transpired, I walked into my hotel room in Hobart with just 15 minutes to spare (they let me in early). Lap top out, lighting on, water to hydrate my shaking voice.

I did it....and won two awards from Charles Darwin University for my troubles: the best presentation and the most engaging presentation. How's that for starting off a retreat on creating a world class speaker business!

Here's the pre-recording. The university hasn't yet uploaded the real time presentation.

My next online keynote is for a Liptember long lunch (fundraiser for Women's Mental Health). After that it is a live conference presentation in Melbourne at the International Conference on Social Work in Health and Mental Health. 

Follow me for more true PhD bloopers. Or book me as a speaker at your event for bonus stories of Murphy's law!

👵🏻 Megan Bayliss: Keynote speaker on well-being and resistance.

👩🏻‍🎓 PhD candidate: social and cultural resistance to the status quo.