I was diagnosed with colon cancer in the Fall of 2004. It was a huge surprise   because there were no previous symptoms in my family of cancer of any kind. My   sister's was an even nastier surprise. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in   2002, much worse than mine, and while her prognosis for survival was 18 months,   we were lucky enough to have her with us for three more years. But by the end of   2005, she was gone and I was an official Survivor.

If you're ever tempted to 'wing it' when you're asked to give a speech...   don't! No matter how well you know your subject, you still have to meet the   requirements of the audience, the people who invited you, and most importantly,   your particular reason for speaking in the first place. Even if you've given the   speech before, there are variables every time that make it vital that you   remember the Six P's of Successful Public Speaking.

How often have you said to yourself, "I'm not afraid of speaking in public,   I'm just afraid I'll make a mistake!" Or "I can't speak as well as so-and-so, so   I don't even want to try." Or "They'll think I'm a bad speaker, and then they'll   think I'm a bad (lawyer, consultant, accountant), too."

When your boss says to you, "You've got to give a speech next week," does your heart sink to the floor? When your department manager says, "I'm counting on your talk next Tuesday to get our new project off with a bang," do you want to run for the hills or sink into a rather large hole and not come up until Wednesday?

Why is it that when some folks are asked to say something at a special occasion, their first question is, "Do I have to write a speech?" This is accompanied by squinching up their eyes, raising their eyebrows in dismay, and maybe wrinkling their nose as if at a malodorous smell. The  question itself is often asked in a querulous tone, the underlying meaning of which is "Please tell me I don't have to write a speech. I really don't want to write a speech. Can't I just say a few words off the top of my head?"