Hey friends, so today I want to dive into a topic that I don't think is talked about enough.

Some of us have past speaking experiences that had a significant impact on how we feel about speaking. The question here is - how do we overcome a particularly intense and negative previous speaking experience?

This is a difficult topic, and I hope this episode can be useful if this is something you struggle with. Many of us experience intense fear and anxiety when it comes to speaking in front of others. It can feel extremely hard to work towards building confidence - especially when there has been an incident in the past that knocked us down.

This episode, we explore what this fear is and how we might approach it with more compassion and curiosity.

Journaling prompts (for practicing self-compassion):

1. When you think about speaking in front of others, what do you notice in your body?
2. Write a short letter to yourself — as if you were a caring, wise older version of you writing to the person who is still carrying fear around speaking. Not to tell them to "just get over it." But to tell them what you wish someone had said to you.
3. If self-compassion were a practice you did for speaking — the way a runner stretches before a race — what would it look like for you? What small, regular act of kindness toward yourself might help you carry this more lightly?

If you have any feedback of comments, please let me know :)

Feel free to leave a voice note : https://podline.fm/quiet-superpowers

Note: I would never share a voice note on the podcast without asking.

Hello - today we're discussing the topic of how to balance time effectively between socialising and alone time.

This is something that has perplexed me for a very long time! So I wanted to explore whether such a perfect balance existed (spoiler alert: it doesn't!), and how we can improve the way we spend time both alone and with other people, without burning out.

Mentioned links and resources:

• Weird Improv Comedy Game : https://creativefacilitation.com/bunny-bunny-2/
• DU Professor + others, Balance between solitude and socializing: everyday solitude time both benefits and harms well-being: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-44507-7
• Behavior of People: Role of Extraversion and Loneliness: https://www.academia.edu/113714928/Behavior_of_People_Role_of_Extraversion_and_Loneliness

Journaling prompts for understanding how you spend time alone:

• Do you often choose to spend your time alone?
• Is the time you spend alone something that you're retreating into?
• Are you trying to escape from something else?

Apologies for the delay in getting this one out!

https://podline.fm/quiet-superpowers Note: I would never share a voice note on the podcast without asking.

Hey everyone- this is the final episode of the three-part series on how to improve at speaking without preparation, on communication frameworks.

In the last two episodes, we looked at:

1. The psychology and reasons behind why we struggle with speaking without preparation
2. The tools and tactics we can use to start improving at this

This episode is on frameworks, which allow us to systemically and sequentially organise our thoughts and ideas into a clear structure.

365 questions for practicing: https://cougarrhetoric.toastmastersclubs.org/jdownload.cgi?action=download&path=365_Sample_Table_Topics_Questions__Courtesy_of_District_8_Toastmasters_International_.pdf

Sample AI prompt for creating questions:

Generate 10 random practice questions I can use to rehearse impromptu speaking frameworks. The questions should be varied — covering personal opinions, everyday life, social situations, and light professional scenarios — but should NOT be highly specific to any one industry or job role. Each question should be open-ended enough to be answered using one of the following three frameworks:

1. Hook / Frame / Message / Landing — for structuring a short speech or monologue with a strong opening and clear takeaway.
2. PREP (Point, Reason, Example, Point) — for sharing a clear opinion or recommendation concisely.
3. SOAR (Situation, Obstacle, Action, Result) — for telling a story about overcoming a challenge.

Let me know if you have any questions, thoughts, feedback!

• I've created a Podline - where you can record a short voice message and send through: https://podline.fm/quiet-superpowers
• Otherwise, feel free to leave a comment or a review here :)