A Fortune 500 CEO once told Paul Connolly:
“If I know I’ve got a speech the next day… I can’t get out of bed.”
It wasn’t about ability, it was fear. Fear built over years, leaving even the most powerful leaders anxious before stepping on stage. Paul’s mission? Help them strip away that fear and discover the confidence they’ve had all along.
Paul, founder The Broadcast Institute, tells us his story:
A CEO of a Fortune 500 company once reached out to me by encrypted email.
I had to phone a gatekeeper just to be granted permission to make another phone call - only then did I find out who it was.
When we finally met 60 floors up in a Central European skyscraper this incredibly successful, powerful man looked me in the eye and said:
“If I know I’ve got a speech the next day… I can’t get out of bed.”
You'd be shocked how often I hear this from leaders at the very top...
And it’s never about ability. It’s always about fear and the scar tissue built up from years of powering through it.
So we started small.
→ We identified his worst-case scenarios: freezing, blanking, getting asked something he couldn’t answer.
→ We practiced what to do in those exact moments: how to slow his breath, how to recover his thread, how to reframe silence as strength.
→ We reframed storytelling as painting pictures with words and worked on grounding each one in present tense and sensory detail.
And then, 3 sessions in, he called me again:
“I don’t think I need you anymore.”
Now, I know this might sound a bit cheesy... but those moments are what I live for.
Because the confidence you’re looking for isn’t magic.
And it isn’t reserved for the “naturals” either.
It’s built by having a toolkit at your disposal when everything *does* go wrong.
And it's why I created The Broadcast Institute.
Not to make people more polished but to help them peel back the fear, the ego, the scar tissue… and realise they were capable all along.
If you're a leader that can relate to that same fear, I'm leading a Public Speaking Masterclass on August 22nd where I share all my tools and technique to get you to speak with confidence. Would absolutely love to see you there!
Format: Live online via Zoom
Date: Friday, August 22nd
Time: 10am – 3:30pm
