Don’t make these 5 public speaking excuses

As a speech coach, my job is to cheer on my clients and help them push past their public speaking excuses. The resistance to change inevitably comes up, and I help them gently move past it.

The bottom line is this: Do you want to make excuses, or do you want to get better?

I posed this question to someone who asked for my feedback on a presentation. When I gave my feedback, the person blamed everyone else for the lackluster performance.

As a speaker, your responsibility is to the audience. Making excuses for failure holds you back from massive success in the future. Here are five excuses to avoid:

Excuse No. 1: “It was a tough crowd.”

Sometimes crowds are tough and you aren’t able to connect. You can prepare and have a well-planned presentation strategy, but sometimes your presentation still goes down in flames.