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She Turned a Crippling Fear of Public Speaking Into a Thriving Business

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Key Takeaways Smith’s “brain bully” method helps business owners silence self-doubt and speak with clarity.

From interviews to responding to customer reviews, Smith teaches that presence, energy and preparation are what build trust.

Smith shows that intentional communication at every touchpoint strengthens credibility.

Lynn Smith, former NBC and CNN anchor and founder of Lynn Smith Media, never imagined her fear of public speaking would one day become the foundation of her business. But after mastering the art of public speaking and overcoming her internal critic, Smith leveraged her professional expertise and personal experience to help small business owners and executives confidently connect with their audience and unlock growth in the process.

Despite spending over 15 years as a news anchor, Smith had a crippling fear of public speaking and was constantly held back by what she calls the “brain bully”. “It’s that voice in your head that’s saying, Nobody wants to hear from you, or You’re gonna screw this up,” Smith says.

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Using this idea of beating your internal bully, she now teaches business leaders how to quiet that self-doubt and communicate with clarity, confidence and presence.

Smith pointed out that many businesses often focus on product, ad placement and distribution but overlook articulating their message — and lose money by doing so. Many business owners fall into one of two traps: overpacking communications with scripted language that sounds robotic, or underpreparing and rambling.

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