If you’re having trouble setting your public speaking goals and resolutions for 2025, here are three to get started on that are research-based and likely to stand you in good stead.  First, think like a champ.  Second, focus like a pro.  And third, show yourself some compassion.

Think Like a Champ.  A study that compared elite athletes with near-great ones found there was one crucial difference:  the way that each group reacted to setbacks.  It turned out that both groups suffered roughly the same number of failures, problems, and injuries.  But it was what they each did next that made the difference between great and near-great.  The near-great were surprised and discouraged – as many of us might be.  But the top group reacted differently.  They doubled down, determined to come back stronger than before.  These athletes were never satisfied with what they had achieved, and never accepted a less-than-winning result.  They constantly set higher goals for themselves, pushed themselves harder, and worked on their ‘game’ to make continuous improvements.  In 2025, then, keep pushing yourself to level up on your speaking.

Focus Like a Pro. There are more ways to get distracted from your goals than there are potholes in Boston streets in Spring.  If you are someone who is in danger of getting off track thanks to the thousand other things you could be doing instead of rehearsing your speech, then this mindfulness technique will turn your year around.  It’s as simple as breathing in and out nine times.  Count the cycle and repeat three times and you are good to go with more focus than before.  The researchers found that the more sidetracked you are the better this works, so don’t give up on yourself.  Just do it:  breathe in an out nine times, counting the breaths.  Repeat three times.  Easy, right?  And you are now focused and ready to get back to work.  You’re welcome.  Sometimes, it is simple.

Give Yourself a Break.  Finally, after all this work pushing yourself to excel and become more mindful, you need a little self-compassion to get through the day.  If you’re like me, you’ll find this exercise the most difficult of the three.  I’m used to pushing myself, and my personal self-talk on my worst days sounds like a cross between a Marine drill sergeant and a Tiger Mom talking to her slacker teen.  I’ve been persuaded, however, that tough self-talk is probably best mixed with a little compassion.  So, here’s how to do it.  Sit down in a quiet place and relax for a minute or two.  Do some deep breathing or picture a beautiful scene in nature that is redolent of calm for you.  Better yet, do some forest bathing.  When you’re relaxed, then imagine yourself feeling compassion for a loved one – a child, perhaps.  For most of us, that’s an easy and comforting mental practice – because we are used to feeling compassion for others we love.  What it helps us do, if we are less used to turning that compassion inward, is experience our compassionate side.  We’re turning on our compassion, as it were, and once it’s cranked up, then you can offer it to yourself as a gift.  For those, like me, who are out of practice creating a compassionate minute for ourselves, this is a way of getting started.

There are your Speaker Resolutions for 2025:  Think like a champ, focus like a pro, and give yourself a break.  And here’s to your 2025 being a banner year.