When was the last time you felt truly shocked about something? It doesn’t matter how long ago it was, or what age you were, because shocks happen at any stage of life. And there’s nothing you can do about them.

Some can be good. For example, having a full house booked in for our most recent Strictly Come Speaking event so quickly, was definitely a pleasant surprise!

Other shocks can be painful, and often, the hardest moments can be the ones you don’t see coming. After all, if something happens which is expected, you can prepare for it – both emotionally and physically.

New Changes on the Horizon

The truth is, shocks can be beneficial. Being shocked into action can be a powerful tool for growth and change – ask me how I know that!!

When you become accustomed to your daily routines, you can become stagnant and uninspired. Get up, shower, go to work, come home, cook dinner, then bed. Repeat. Ask yourself, how close is that to your regular routine?

A shock can be a powerful tool for breaking you out of your comfort zone. Sometimes it can cause you to look back on yourself – who you are, your lifestyle, your relationships, even your flaws.

When a relationship unexpectedly ends for example, the initial reaction to the shock may be anger and blame, perhaps denial, and thinking about what you (or they) could or should have done differently.

But it’s not all gloom and doom. When the shock wears off there often comes gratitude, which means that you’ll experience more awareness of the good parts of your life. In this example, it could be the support from your family or friends.

Are You Shocking?

So why bring this up, you ask?

Well, here’s the thing about shocks – they tend to be memorable! Whether it’s what they caused, how they affected your life, or how they changed YOU, I can guarantee that the shocks you’ve experienced so far, you probably remember in intricate detail? Am I right?

With that in mind, I believe it can be powerful to be shocking yourself. What do I mean by this?

When public speaking, one of our key tips is not to be vanilla. What you need to do instead is to SHOCK your audience.

Whether it’s through a survey, a story, or even some statistics – if you can provide something unpredictable, you’ll immediately grab their attention, and give a much more memorable speech.

We call this, the shock-tactic. Give it a try!

And if you’d like to hear more public speaking tips, be sure to follow our Strictly Come Speaking page, by clicking here.

Cheryl xx

PS – If you liked this blog and want to read more blogs surrounding female empowerment, you can find last week’s here: ‘How Can You Truly Express Yourself?

“I’m on a global mission to help 10 million disheartened souls, who are at a crossroads, to STOP asking why me? And START saying why not me!”

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