Public speaking takeaways from Bruce Lee

Even knowing that, I recently read with genuine surprise in Brain Pickings Weekly that kung fu master Bruce Lee was quite the philosopher and kept a notebook of his musings.

Lee had 10 principles that he strove to live by and which he kept in a journal for handy reference.

In reading them, I was struck by how helpful they would be for public speakers, as well as for kung fu practitioners of all levels. So here they are, annotated for speakers: the life lessons of Bruce Lee:

1. You will never get any more out of life than you expect . You must set your sights high. Just as in kung fu (I’m guessing), mastering the art of public speaking is contingent upon building on failure, but only if you set your standards high enough. You only get better by pushing yourself.

2. Keep your mind on the things you want and off those you don’t. It’s essential for speakers to focus on the positive aspects of their relationship with the audience and with their material. If you’re excited to present and thrilled with your content, you’re going to do well. If you focus on all the things that could go wrong, most of them will.