A lady in a recent training felt grateful. Better put: she was relieved. She thanked me for having created a safe environment; she had never forgotten a past experience where the trainer made her feel small.

How is that even possible?

Public speaking is all about finding your strengths. It’s a journey on which you discover what you already do well and what you can do better. You try things, you step out of your comfort zone and you can only do that in a fun and friendly atmosphere.

It reminds me of Keith Johnstone who wrote:

“People think of good and bad teachers as engaged in the same activity, as if education was a substance, and that bad teachers supply a little of the substance, and good teachers supply a lot. This makes it difficult to understand that education can be a destructive process, and that bad teachers are wrecking talent, and that good and bad teachers are engaged in opposite activities.”

It’s the same in public speaking. Trainers transfer knowledge but our real job is to help people grow. And that’s what most of us do.