My smartphone: The most powerful tool in my toolkit.

There’s one piece of kit I would never give a speech without using. It’s not a clicker or a mic.

It’s my phone.

I’ve discovered that recording myself on my iPhone is the most effective thing I’ve ever done to improve my public speaking. It’s now the single most important part of my preparation routine.

But I’ll be honest, the first time I did it was excruciating.

There I was, standing in my bedroom, phone on a tiny tripod, trying to deliver my talk. I hit record… and when I watched it back I instantly cringed at the sound of my own voice, how I looked and my body language. I remember thinking, ‘Is that really how I come across?’

It was uncomfortable. But it was also a turning point for me.

Because that moment of self-awareness gave me something that no audience, no colleague, no coach had ever given me before: an unfiltered view of how I actually communicate.

And since then, it’s become my secret weapon. Every time I have a presentation, I set up my phone, press record, and rehearse as if I’m live on stage.

It still doesn’t go smoothly, though. Here’s how it usually goes:

• Take 1 is always dreadful.

• Take 2 is only marginally better.

• But somewhere around the 5th take, I start to find my rhythm.

• By the 10th, I’ve usually hit the level I’m happy with.

Ten takes. That’s my magic number. It’s where I feel confident that I’ve reached the standard I’m happy with.

Right now, I’ve got a speech coming up in a week’s time. So here’s the plan:

• Today: 5 recordings.

• Tomorrow: 5 more.

• Two days before: Lunchtime practice.

• The night before: One final run-through.

• On the day: A quick lunchtime refresh, then I’m ready.

By that point, my words will be memorised, I’ll know the structure, the flow and, most importantly, how I’m going to say things.

There’s an irony about public speaking: To sound natural, you have to rehearse relentlessly. To make it so familiar that it sounds like you’re saying it for the very first time.

Yes, I’ll obviously invest time in preparing my slides and my notes.
But the secret sauce is the practice I put in on my phone, perched on a little tripod.

If you’ve never recorded yourself before, I highly recommend it. I guarantee you’ll cringe at first, but keep going. Watch yourself, learn and adjust.

Your own smartphone might just be the best public speaking coach you can find.


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