The voice in your head can either be a coach or a critic.  If you were to speak to your friends as your inner critic speaks to you it is doubtful you would have many friends.  Empowering your inner coach begins by being merciful, with yourself.   Ennobling your communication with mercy will improve how you feel about yourself, how you present your story and how you touch your
audience.

Be merciful to your listeners by sharing your message from their perspective.  The story of how you first got interested in your subject coupled with the questions you asked yourself is a great way to connect with your audience.  Questions that helped you
to turn your confusion into comprehension are undoubtedly the same questions your listeners are asking themselves.

Let your story show how your initial ignorance evolved into information worth sharing.  Showing mercy to your own misunderstanding encourages your listeners to share in your story and invites them to make your story their story.  More often than not, a bit of merciful self-deprecation will result in mirthful responses.  When we can laugh at ourselves, others will laugh with us, not at us.  How you tell your story guides your listeners.

How you feel about yourself tells your audience how they should feel towards your message and you.  ‘Do as I say not as I do’, never results in an effective presentation.  Great stories do not come from what you have done, but from what you have overcome.  Great presentations  require you to mercifully acknowledge how your weaknesses can become your listener’s strengths.

Perhaps there is only a subtle difference between a coach and a critic: what is said and how it is said. Your inner critic becomes your inner coach when you choose to speak, personally and publically, with the doubly blessed quality of mercy.