Master Public Speaking Under Pressure | Elaine Williams | Captivate the Mic

Even though I grew up performing, singing, dancing, and doing theater, the very first time I stood up to speak as myself at a Toastmasters meeting—without a script or a character to hide behind—my brain went completely blank. My heart pounded, I started sweating, and I completely choked in under 30 seconds.

In this special solo episode of Captivate the Mic, I'm pulling back the curtain on my own journey from freezing up on stage to doing stand-up comedy and helping C-suite executives command the room. Speaking well under pressure is a completely different animal than regular conversation, and true confidence comes from the inside out.

Key Takeaways:

• Character vs. Self: Speaking as a character with a script is vastly different from standing up and sharing your authentic voice as a human being.
• Practice in Front of People: Skip the mirror. Mirror practice makes you hyper-self-conscious. True growth happens when you practice in front of real eyes.
• Ride the Ride: Every audience is a unique experience. Give up the need to control the outcome, stay anchored in your purpose, and be willing to ride the ups and downs.
• Connect with Your Why: When your focus shifts from "How do I look?" to "How can I make an impact?", your nerves naturally settle.

Elaine Willaims' Bio

An award-winning comedic speaker, international best-selling author, and podcast host, Elaine Williams is a premier video and speaker coach who transforms clients from "awkward to awesome" on camera and stage. As the founder of Captivate the Crowd, she combines her certified coaching background with over 40 years of professional experience across theater, film, TV, and stand-up comedy—including credits with Saturday Night Live, America’s Got Talent, and HBO—to train executives, entrepreneurs, and speakers to confidently command the room. Her clients have accelerated from complete camera avoidance to launching successful YouTube channels, embarking on international book tours, and speaking for organizations like NASA. A highly sought-after speaker who has delivered keynotes at military bases and prestigious universities nationwide, Elaine holds a BA in Drama with honors from UT Austin and draws on her extensive training in leadership, performance, and visibility to empower leaders to step out of the wings, take imperfect action, and own their spotlight. 

Connect with your Host, Elaine Williams:
Check out Captivate the Mic Podcast on Elaine's YouTube Channel
Check out the Captivate the Crowd Website
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Want to schedule a free chat with Elaine? Click here to book a zoom date!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hello, this is Elaine Williams with Captivate the Mic, and today I am doing a solo episode. I'm gonna be talking about some speaking tips. And whether you are a seasoned speaker, a new speaker, a medium speaker, or maybe you've never even had that on your radar, but you've heard that the best way to grow your business is through speaking. Wherever you are, welcome. And my hope is that you will be learning something new or remembering something you had forgotten. So I want to talk about a story about me. So I grew up singing and dancing, performing, loving the theater, doing all things, commercials, and and I did a movie and I did theater. I loved it. I moved to New York City to pursue acting on a whole nother level. I couldn't get arrested for the first couple of, I guess the first year and a half, and then things started happening for me. And then I went to a friend to support her. I went to her Toastmasters meetings and I was blown away at the club and how supportive everybody was. And I decided that was going to be my next step towards becoming a professional motivational speaker. But what I want to tell you is that even though I had been on stage my whole life, I'm in this big fancy room at the New York Bar Building Association. So there's marble and big dominating pictures of men in robes. And I got picked to speak on a table topic where they shout out the table topic, I don't even remember what it was, and then they call on you, and you're supposed to stand up and speak extemporaneously for two minutes. Now you would think I would be great at that because I've been speaking, but I had not been speaking as myself. So I stood up and I said, Oh, my voice is really high. And I don't remember exactly what I said. Then all of a sudden my brain went blank, my heart started pounding, I was sweating, and I said, Okay, thank you. And I sat down 30 seconds. I completely choked. And it was very like bewildering to me. I thought, what the heck just happened? And what I later realized was I hadn't spoken as Elaine. I was used to speaking as a character. I was used to, well, give me the song to sing, give me the dance to learn, give me what's the scene about. I had, you know, done all this work as a professional performer, but as the human being, Elaine, I freaked out. I was out of my element in a way I had not realized. Now you may be thinking, okay, what does this have to do with me? It's, you know, a lot of people say, I've been speaking my whole life. I should I should be good at it. But speaking well under pressure is very different than speaking to your dry cleaners or ordering fast food at Chick-fil-A, right? Speaking when everybody is looking at you, or you're supposed to be leading a meeting on Zoom or in person, very different animal. And so I wanted to share that part of the journey that I went through. So hopefully you can apply that to your where you are in your journey. So when I first started doing stand-up, I wasn't, I was sort of funny accidentally a lot of times. Learning to tell jokes and write jokes and do it on demand was a whole different set of skills. And all I knew was I had to keep doing it, and I just knew I was pulled towards this medium. And I had friends that would come see me and then they would take a break, and then they would come see me six months later, and they would be like, Oh my god, you've gotten funnier! And I'd be like, I did? Okay, cool. Like, and part of it was just seasoning. There's something about getting on stage, being on camera, learning what you do when you're when you see the green light, when you see the lights pop on, when you see people in the audience, what do you do? Do you get excited? Is it nerves or is it excitement? Could it be both? Does your mouth get dry? Do you need to make sure that you have extra water by your side? There's a seasoning and a settling in. And it's kind of like uh stage time, which one of my mentors, Darren LaCroix, that's his saying, but it's so true. So whether you're just coming back as a speaker or you're new, one of the things I'm really going to implore you to do is to practice in front of others. I don't like practicing in front of a mirror. I think it makes you more self-conscious. I don't think it is helpful or productive. I know some people swear by it. I'm all about from the inside out. Think about my why to use my story for good, to help make a difference everywhere I go, to have an impact. And when I come from that place, that pulls me forth. Way bigger than how's my hair look or uh the outside things. So I'm a big fan of really tapping into what is your reason for being here, what is your purpose, and when you're connected with that's what pulls you forth. The other thing, and if you're an entrepreneur, you know this, it is uncomfortable to grow and learn and stretch, right? It's uncomfortable. You know, that it is human nature to want to make it safe. And yet I know when I'm not stretching, I get mad at myself. I like to feel stretched and I like to do things outside of my comfort zone. I resist it, but I also feel most alive when I'm doing it, if that makes sense. And so one of the things I learned to say to myself before I went on stage, especially as a comedian, but really as a speaker too, is am I willing to ride the ride? And I would say a prayer like, God, help me get back on track if I get off track, and I probably will. Help me remember I'm here to make a difference. They don't have to like me. Because I want to be liked, I want to be loved. I'm still a people pleaser. So I would pray, am I willing to ride the ride? Because there's nothing worse than having a really, really great speech or set, and then the next one, you know, it's not gonna be as good. And so there's a part of you that wants to hold on to the old one, and it's a new day, it's a new audience. And as a speaker, sometimes you just have these moments with audiences where you're so connected, you're in the zone, they're in the zone. It's like a love fest, there's standing ovations, there's I mean, I've had some amazing experiences on military bases and college campuses and in comedy clubs. And not every experience is gonna be woo. So I have to ask myself, am I willing to ride the ride? Am I willing? They may be with me, and then I may lose them and I may have to give them back, or I may be going along and then I may forget something or get distracted, and that's okay. Can I can I get myself back? It's a ride. And when it's live, you you can't control it. You get to ride it, and it's really a privilege. Anytime I'm on stage, I think of it as theater, a church. Anytime you have people that are showing up to listen to you, it is such an honor and a privilege. And I want to honor the audience back. So you can ask yourself, am I willing to ride the ride? And that doesn't mean you're gonna go crashing into a valley, but there are ups and downs with every situation and every audience. And are you committed to your craft? Do you want to become a better speaker? Do you want to be able to enroll people in your vision, whether it's your business, your services, your nonprofit, your charity, enrolling people in doing their homework, whatever it is, when you are a seasoned, charismatic, vocal variety kind of speaker under pressure, whoo, that's like the bee's knees. And that takes practice and it takes stage time. So I hope that this is gonna make a difference for you. And if you know somebody who wants to start working on their speaking or knows it's time, maybe they're a C-suite exec and they know they they've got to work on being able to command the room, own the room, own the Zoom, please share this with them and feel free to share this with anybody who you think would make a difference. And if you're willing to be uncomfortable and if you're willing to ride the ride, anything's possible. Because when you are a charismatic speaker and you speak well under pressure, the world is your oyster. So thanks so much. I can't wait to see what you do on the stage or the screen. Thanks for being a part of Captivate the Mic community. Please rate, subscribe, review that helps us get seen in more places so more people can find us and be a part of it. Thanks so much for watching and listening. Part of Captivate the Mic community. Please rate, subscribe, review that helps us get seen in more places so more people can find us and be a part of it. Thanks so much for watching and listening.