Steve Wyn, a former Principal Engineer at Amazon turned YouTuber, argues that speaking confidence is not a feeling you wait for, but a system you can install. After struggling to transition from Amazon’s writing-heavy culture to on-camera speaking, Wyn treated verbal communication as a technical skill to be optimized. Here is the four-step framework he developed to master public speaking.

1. Solve the “Cold Start” Problem

The hardest part of any presentation or meeting is the beginning. Friction and anxiety are highest right before you speak, often leading to freezing or rambling. Because 80% of people’s impression of you is formed in the first minute, the opening is critical.

• The Solution: Do not wing the beginning. Write down your very first sentence word-for-word.
• The Goal: Create a “launchpad” that breaks the inertia. Once you nail the opening line with specific, rehearsed words, the rest of the speech flows naturally.

2. The Physical Confidence Protocol

Many speakers feel like they “float away” or dissociate when speaking due to nerves. Wyn suggests a reframe: confidence isn’t a feeling; it is something you “put on” like a pair of shoes. By changing your physiology, you can regulate your psychology.

The Protocol:

• Plant feet shoulder-width apart.
• Pull shoulders back.
• Speak from the diaphragm, not the throat.
• Make deliberate eye contact.

When you physically enact the behaviors of a confident person, your brain follows suit, keeping you grounded and present.

3. The Three-Pass Review System

We often rely on our feelings to judge how we did, but feelings are unreliable. To improve rapidly, you must review the “game tape.” Wyn recommends recording your meetings or presentations and reviewing them three distinct times:

1. Pass 1 (Video Only): Mute the audio. Watch for fidgeting, distracting gestures, and eye contact. Do you look confident?
2. Pass 2 (Audio Only): Turn off the screen. Listen for verbal ticks (um, like, you know), tone, and pacing. Do you sound monotone or rushing?
3. Pass 3 (Full Review): Watch and listen together to see how your words and body language sync up.

4. Shift Your Mindset: “Let Them Look”

The fear of judgment often causes speakers to shrink or apologize for taking up space. The final piece of the system is a mindset shift regarding the audience’s attention.

• The Shift: Instead of fearing the eyes on you, tell yourself: “I know they are looking at me, so I let them look.”
• The Result: This moves you from a position of victimhood to a position of power. You have earned the right to speak, so you must give the audience permission to watch you, rather than apologizing for your presence.

Conclusion: Communication is not an innate talent; it is an engineered skill. By scripting your start, controlling your physiology, reviewing your data, and owning your space, you can build confidence systematically.

Mentoring question

When you review your own past presentations or meetings, do you rely on how you ‘felt’ in the moment, or do you look at the objective data (recordings) to identify technical areas for improvement?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-JlFfVkTymo&is=jzpdLYzMXI0J5KpW