The second in a series of Rookie education webinars covered public speaking – something that worries many people, but is an unavoidable aspect of being a professional sportsperson. Maria Wilhelmsson from VoxImpact delivered an interactive session that provided the Rookies, and some more established players, with valuable information and the opportunity to take part in practical exercises. Maria spoke about how to make an impact when speaking in public and elaborated on the five Cs of communication – core, confidence, connection, clarity and calm.
The players learned about the importance of body language and were offered a wide variety of tips on how to get a message across to an audience. Maria’s presentation was packed with advice that will be useful to the players when communicating with sponsors, the media and fans. During the session, the participants were split into breakout groups where they were able to practice some of the techniques and receive valuable real-time feedback. The webinar concluded with a Q&A during which several Rookies took the opportunity to benefit even further from Maria’s extensive knowledge and expertise.
After the webinar, Maria commented: “I was impressed how interested and committed they were to learning and practicing. I also enjoyed seeing how supportive you were too each other by giving useful and constructive feedback in the break-out session. Great questions and insightful observations.”
Rookie Harang Lee from Spain thought what she had learned from Maria will help her in the future. She said: “From the very beginning when I started to play golf, I had issues with public speaking. I got nervous all the time. This presentation taught me many things I will use for the rest of my life. I will give myself more time when I speak to people, and won’t rush through it or start mumbling. I have a tendency to do that when I get nervous. I will learn when to pause and she taught us this and many other key points.” Harang added: “It was something new with the Zoom breakout sessions where we worked in small groups with an exercise and the others gave us an instant reaction. It was nice to do this with the other professionals and help each other with feedback.”
More information about Maria’s work can be found at www.voximpact.com. She has produced videos on how to use your voice and speak to make yourself easy and enjoyable to listen to you – Express Vocal Tips – as well as three brief videos on how to run: Effective and Enjoyable Video Meetings.
