Karen Schofield, keynote speaker & trainer

Putting yourself in a vulnerable position is tough. But often, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is where you really grow and develop.

Presenting is one of my favourite parts of my job, especially on stage, although most of it is done remotely these days. It took me years to get to this point though; in my early career I couldn’t stand the idea of presenting to an audience. I’d get ‘the fear’.

The fear of not being good enough. Of boring the audience. Of forgetting what I was supposed to say. I’d ‘umm’ my way through presentations, I struggled to find my own style, and I genuinely never thought I’d get to a point I’d enjoy it so much I’d be speaking professionally.

Practice, preparation and feedback were key to help me improve and find my own style, but it took me a long time to get to a place where I felt comfortable getting on stage and being authentic.

I’ve just finished my second season doing pantomime with our local theatre, and despite loving being on stage, I felt like I was back in my early 20s with ‘the fear’ again. Why? I was playing Rapunzel’s evil stepmother, Floella. It’s a great part, and I had the lines and evil voice down, and a significant amount of make-up to create a fantastic character. But I also had to sing. Solo. Twice.

I specifically said I’m not a singer when I auditioned (at least, not unless a significant amount of gin and karaoke is involved). So it’s taken a big push out of my comfort zone and a lot of encouragement to get on stage and sing in front of a live audience. I’ve felt really vulnerable, uncomfortable and ridiculous at times, especially at rehearsals with a limited audience (people often say it’s harder presenting to a small group of people you know – same goes for singing in my case!).

I had invaluable feedback along the way from both the choreographer and music coach which kept me going, and reminded me of the importance of regular, constructive and immediate feedback. And the importance of being open and taking that feedback onboard to learn. Practicing, and pushing yourself a bit more out of your comfort zone every time, until it becomes a bit easier.

Once I’d let go of my ‘fear’ of being vulnerable, I really enjoyed the experience, and feedback from the audience on the show has been brilliant. There was one performance where I sang the same verse twice (oops), and another where I messed up a couple of lines and replaced them with something else which broadly rhymed (!). I’ll never be the best singer but it’s not about that – it’s about doing your best, and entertaining the audience. And the fact they were joining in and enjoying the show is all that matters.

Being vulnerable is hard and takes courage, as does taking feedback, but it’s reminded me that pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can be such a rewarding experience.

When have you pushed yourself recently to do something new/uncomfortable, and how did it make you feel?