Waqas Denverspeakup

The Top 1% response if you freeze in meetings or presentations.

For more on speaking with confidence and authority, follow Waqas urRehman | Public Speaking Anxiety Coach

Client Results - Muhammad Hameed, PEPSICO Australia

Ever watched a speaker open their talk with ‘Dictionary Definition’ of a word everyone already knew? i feel it’s the most LAME way to start a talk, and…

NO amount of good content in minutes 2 through 20 can do the damage control..

I’ve seen it 10’s of times:

The long bio & list of awards nobody asked for. The apology before 1st sentence. The cliché quote from someone more famous than you’ll ever be. The agenda slide read-out-loud like the audience can’t read themselves 🥱

None of these are stupid choices. They’re safe.. actually TOO SAFE. That’s exactly why they fail.

Strong openings look different:

- confidence over apology
- direction, not agenda recital
- relevance before list of awards
- energy you show, not announce
- your perspective, not Mark Twain’s
- relevant story, not a dictionary definition
- bold statement instead of self-deprecation
- hook that creates tension, not a polite formality
- promise to solve a pain-point than a mediocre joke

So.. TRY THIS:

Before your next presentation, look at your planned opening.
If it’s safe, familiar, or “what people usually do”… delete it.

Replace it with something that creates curiosity in 1st line.

Forgettable speakers protect themselves. Memorable speakers protect audience’s attention.

A past client sent me a DM that stopped me in my tracks...

Early 2025, I offered a few gift sessions.

Jai trusted me to help her with public speaking anxiety.

We worked together for about 2 weeks.

- No rehearsing scripts.
- No “Faking” confidence.
- No mantras or affirmations.

We worked on the root causes behind her anxiety.
By the end, something shifted.

In her own words:

“By the end of the session, I felt an incredible sense of empowerment and that a weight I didn’t realise I had been carrying was lifted from my shoulders.”

- 2 weeks.
- A lighter nervous system response.
- A new relationship with public speaking nerves.

We were both happy with the results.

But last week, I received her DM and realised…

→ Sometimes all it takes is couple of weeks with someone who’d been in your shoes and knows the feeling of being stuck all alone.

You know your stuff… but nobody else does.

(This is how your expertise is sabotaging your influence)

Last week, I gave a short talk at Toastmasters.

Topic was very dear to my heart:
Storytelling.

I explained 5 story elements…
and 5 minutes in, people looked lost.

Later I realized…
I was assuming they already knew everything I was teaching.

BRUTAL TRUTH:
The deeper your knowledge…
the less likely others are to understand you.

Here are 6 Curse-of-Knowledge traps… and how to communicate like a pro:

Client from San Francisco USA

“I’m sorry, but...”

(This is how your “politeness” is killing your Authority)

That automatic apology?
It just cost you another promotion.
Another opportunity.
Another chance to lead.

Brutal Truth:
Your “sorry” is training people to see you as WEAK.

Here are 7 Authority-killers... and the confident alternatives that command respect

Do the opposite and thank me later.