How I Overcame My Fear of Public Speaking | Danish Dhamani | TEDxKids@SMU

Key wellness / self-care / productivity strategies

• Face fear early instead of hiding it

  • When public speaking anxiety showed up (blank mind, racing heart, tears after being put on the spot), the long-term strategy was to not bury the fear but address it.
  • Reframe fear as a starting point for action: “go out and face your fears.”

• Treat public speaking fear as a learnable skill

  • Shift mindset from: “You’re either born a public speaker or you’re not.”
  • To: Public speaking can be practiced and improved, like training a skill.

• Use structured practice and feedback loops

  • Practice in safe, controlled ways:
    • Rehearse in front of a mirror
    • Record your speech and review it
  • Seek external feedback:
    • Join public speaking clubs (Toastmasters)
    • Get coaching/critique on what you did well vs. what to improve

• Leverage affordable learning options when coaching is out of budget

  • If a speech coach isn’t feasible, try:
    • Online courses
    • Self-guided study using what you find on Google

• Develop delivery skills through targeted technique

  • Practice voice control:
    • Vary tone up and down
    • Adjust speaking pace (speed up to energize, slow down to grab attention)

• Build or use “on-demand” personalized support

  • Concept introduced: an AI speech coach that can:
    • Analyze how you speak (not just what you say)
    • Provide personalized lessons
    • Offer instant feedback
    • Enable private practice (“quietly in privacy”)

• Apply a growth mindset—no “finish line”

  • Public speaking improvement is ongoing
  • Don’t stop because you feel “good enough”—you only stop if you tell yourself you’re done.

• Problem-solving approach (productivity mindset)

  • If you have a problem:
    • Search for solutions
    • Learn the skills
    • If no solution exists, create one

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Presenters / sources

• Presenter: Danish Dhamani (TEDxKids@SMU)

Sources mentioned

• Google (used for searching how to overcome fear of public speaking)
• Toastmasters (public speaking club)
• AI/personal assistants: Siri, Alexa
• Research papers / computational linguistics (general references)
• Artificial intelligence (general methodology)

Referenced project/app names

• Aural AI (mobile app for speech coaching)