Fear of Public Speaking | Fashion | Lone Star Looking Glass

How I’m Getting Over My Fear of Public Speaking:

Fear of public speaking is probably a strong phrase. I’m not afraid of public speaking or anything … however, I wouldn’t say I find it as comfortable as I do … sitting at home in my leggings speaking to the world through a keyboard. If you are that comfortable with public speaking, I envy you and totally admire you at the same time! But I’m attempting to put any sort of fears I have aside next month to hopefully give back to a community – something they so generously shared with me in my early blogging journey: knowledge & encouragement!

I’m thrilled to share that I will be speaking this March at the Thrive Blog Conference in Austin! I am so excited to give back so many tips and tricks I’ve learned from behind the scenes of the blogging world since I started Lone Star Looking Glass almost six years ago. I’ll be teaming up with a dear friend of mine, Pam (@ItsPamDel) to share everything we can on the topic of “Working with Brands.” Today, I’m spilling details on some of the insight we plan to give, why speaking at Thrive is so special to me, AND a darling white dress to transition into spring. Because I can’t resist sharing a fabulous sundress when I find one!

PS: I’m also dishing on a discount code to get your ticket for Thrive for even less! More below …

How will I be putting those fears aside you ask?

Several ways! The big one is that I refuse to say “I’m nervous” beforehand. Every time I’ve ever said or told someone that I was nervous before a big event … I amplified my nerves tenfold just because I said those words out loud. I plan to go in with a laid back mentality while saying to myself over & over “you’ve got this!”

I also heard that the more you know your material, the less nervous you will be – because you’re confident in what you’re speaking about. I’ll be sharing my personal business’ story with you all. One that I know backward and forwards. Hopefully, since I’m so familiar with the topic, it will cure some of those nerves and fears too!

Because let’s be honest, the real reason I didn’t excel in my public speaking class was that I wasn’t as familiar or prepared with my topic of choice as I could have been. I chose to speak on Special Effects in the Movie Industry. Ha, what was I thinking!? I just really enjoyed watching the behind the scenes segments on my favorite DVDs & thought I would speak on the topic. No wonder I got a C! I’m excited to redeem myself at Thrive in a few weeks, that’s for sure.

Sidenote: I recently grabbed the Penny Tecovas boots in black. I wear my brown pair ALL THE TIME. I have a feeling the black is going to be on just as heavy a rotation too! Linked them here for yall.

about the look

And before I jump into the topic of Thrive, tell me, who else can’t resist spinning around in a good flowy sundress?! This Shoshanna stunner is perfect for the spring season. With Houston’s warmer climate, I’m already able to style it now with boots and a denim jacket. I’m envisioning this dress paired with black heeled sandals and a floppy straw hat come spring! (You can find the same dress in blue at Anthropologie too!)

Why Speaking at Thrive Means So Much to Me

Thrive was started several years ago by two sweet friends of mine. I remember when we all got together for a blogger meet up here in Houston … back in like 2014!! Whitney and Bre shared their plans with me to start their own conference and I couldn’t have been more excited at the time. This was back when instagram had just started and bloggers were only barely beginning to trickle their website’s content onto the platform. Little did we know how things would evolve back then!

I also was relatively new to blogging. It was purely a hobby for me and something I did just for fun before and after I went to work. It wasn’t until I attended Thrive that I discovered that blogging could become SO MUCH MORE than a hobby. A life & style blog could one day become a career and support a family too. I had assumed this was true but it wasn’t until hearing these words from the lips of the successful speakers at my first conference that my mind was just entirely blown.

Going to my first Thrive conference, I expected to learn a tidbit or two on how to update Lone Star Looking Glass’ layout and maybe gain some content ideas along the way. I never dreamed that I would be leaving with the tools that really … essentially changed my life.

All of the women who spoke at Thrive all those years ago were bloggers who I deeply admired and still do today. I feel so honored that I can call several of them my friends now, years later. I can’t tell y’all how special it is that I’m able to take my blogging journey full circle and speak at Thrive to share insight (all these years later) on the industry and to encourage YOU all to grow and thrive too!

A few snaps from the 2015 & 2016 conferences!

What Conference Attendees Will Get Out of Our Session

Pam and I will be speaking on working with brands as a blogger and WOW we have so much to say on the topic. In my early days of blogging, I spent my day job working on the PR side of things with both food bloggers and style bloggers. The insight that I gained from this experience combined with several years spent navigating this biz has brought me to where I am today. Pam and I plan to share tips on things like how to create a media kit, how to pitch a brand, setting rates for your work, how to negotiate rates with a brand, and tips on creating invoices and how to get paid too. (Among other things!)