Yi-Ning Huang
February 12th, 2022
Hi MicMentee,
How were your practice sessions with MicMentor? I have to admit: at first, it was super awkward to me.
I hate talking to a machine. It does not feel natural. I even avoid leaving voice messages because it is so awkward to me. For some reason, it is scary to me to talk to a machine - even scarier than talking to a person. I don’t know if you experience the same fear and frustration, but this is what I found out:
Many good speakers practice talking to a wall, a machine, or a mirror for their interview, sales meeting, or public announcement.
Talking to a real person is easier because we can get feedback from their reaction. If their response is positive, it boosts our confidence level - we feel more confident with speaking. However, we don’t get any feedback when talking to a wall, a device, or a mirror. The fear of rejection makes us less confident about our speech. That’s why good speakers practice speaking to a wall - it helps them to become immune to the fear of rejection.
This brings me to my second point: when we overcome our fear of rejection, we create more opportunities for ourselves.
I was a person who did not like to speak up. I always feared that I misspeak and destroy my career. I had the whole Career Destruction Drama in my brain - I couldn’t get rid of it. But if we look at it from a logical perspective, it is not the end of the world if someone says “no” to us. The world is full of opportunities if we keep trying. However, we rarely get a chance for an opportunity that we don’t ask for. It is the same with sharing important ideas at our workplace. If we don’t share that innovative idea, no one will ever know they have a valuable team member. They will need to give us the promotion, the mentorship, the degree, the team, or the resources we need to become even more impactful for the organization.
I hope you enjoy reading about my experience. Please feel free to send me a short message and share your experience with MicMentor!