#33: Following Your Heart

February 24th, 1981, was the date everything changed for Diana Spencer. At 19, she had now been thrust into the spotlight as the fiancée of the heir apparent, Prince Charles. 

Just a month earlier she had been working as a nursery school assistant. Now she was caught in a whirlwind of media interest and in just a few months’ time would be walking down the aisle in front of a global tv audience of 750 million people!

No-one could have been prepared for this, but Diana especially, felt painfully shy and lost in the frenzy of attention. The new role too, brought with it the expectation of regular public appearances and Diana confided that she was finding it difficult to cope with the pressures of being the Princess of Wales.

By the mid-1980s, however, with her marriage to Charles increasingly strained and whilst courting constant attention from paparazzi, Diana was using her platform to highlight multiple charities. Helping victims of AIDS, leprosy, landmines, eating disorders, homelessness, child illness and many more, she was conducting 400 public engagements a year.

Diana was loved wherever she went and had grown from the shy princess to a confident woman with charisma and compassion shining through. On the inside though, the young Diana was still very much there and carrying a big fear –- a fear that many of us possess… She was terrified of public speaking.

Diana to her credit, decided to run towards the fear and worked with several speaking coaches. One of these, Stewart Pearce, explained that "She knew that her voice was not powerful. She knew that her voice was a voice of submission, not a voice of triumph. She wanted to find that." 

Diana felt she could make an even bigger impact for her charities, if she could truly speak with conviction and from the heart. The coaching helped and throughout the 90s her speaking and confidence improved, as she made impassioned speeches, positively impacting the lives of millions.

It prompted Stephen Lee, director of UK charities to say that Diana had made a bigger impact on charity than anyone else in the 20th century. Certainly, a fitting tribute for an amazing lady taken far too soon.

WISDOM 💎

"I lead from the heart not the head."

"Nothing brings me more happiness than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society."

Princess Diana

Tip 1 - A SMART PLAY ✅

Diana realised that her opportunity to touch millions of people’s lives was more important than her fear of speaking. If you remember with public speaking that IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU, it’s about who you can help in the audience, then this might help you to be courageous.

Tip 2 - AVOID 🚩

Using your personality as an excuse for not standing up. Diana was excruciatingly shy and thrown into the most unforgiving limelight. She could easily have hidden away and yet she didn’t let that stop her.

Tip 3 - ACTION 💪

If you had a platform, what topic that is close to your heart would you speak about?

"The biggest disease the world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved."

Princess Diana, RIP