Contests.

Some win.

More lose.

This weekend we had the Central & Eastern European speech contest in Bratislava. Some happy winners. And some disappointed… not-winners.

For the not-winners who are feeling that: “oh, maybe I should not even bother next time”. It’s normal you’re feeling this way. But if you’re serious about improving your speaking: It’s not helpful.

A simple thing you can do to get your confidence – and learning momentum – back quickly:

Grab a small success. Now.

“Often we have a general feeling of insecurity because we have never really mastered anything in life. Unconsciously we feel weak and never quite up to the task. Before we begin something, we sense we will fail. The best way to overcome this once and for all is to attack this weakness head-on and build for ourselves a pattern of confidence. And this must be done by first tackling something simple and basic, giving us a taste for the power we can have.” – Robert Greene, 50th Law

The situation is that right now you’re in a far better situation than having “never really mastered anything in life”. You’ve just lost in a contest.

Grab a small success. Learn a new Table Topics structure. Brainstorm 5 topics for your spring contest season speech. Or, if all else fails: Make your bed in the morning.

You can take it from there.

Just don’t stop learning.