At a recent networking meeting, the M.C., a very bright, capable woman and an excellent speaker, was outlining the program for the evening, highlighting the various events and speakers we were going to hear from. She knew how to use humor to liven up the laundry list of information she needed to convey and all was going along swimmingly, until the moment came to introduce the first speaker. And then she said, "So, without further ado, please welcome..." and gave the speaker's name.

            "What's wrong with that?", you might ask.       

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As I was preparing my talk on "How to Become a Unique & Sexy Speaker" for the So. Cal. MENSA Regional Gathering a few weeks ago, the Evil Gremlin on my left shoulder whispered in my ear, "You don't need to rehearse. You've written a whole book about this. You know this stuff cold. All you need is an outline, and you can wing it from there. Just go for it!          

There’s an erroneous belief firmly entrenched in the minds of many folks who hate to give a speech.  They’re convinced the audience is there to judge them and find them wanting.  They’re sure they’ll forget something important or say something bass-ackwards, garble a sentence, turn red from embarrassment, speak too fast or too slow, and generally show that they’re totally lacking in confidence or competence.  They endure hot flashes, cold sweats, upset stomachs, the shakes, and can’t wait to get it over with.                                               

            Flash!  It’s not true.  The audience is not waiting for....

           In a discussion group recently, one of the participants expressed a desire to overcome his lack of confidence when he has to speak to a group. When I mentioned that I had written a whole book on the subject that includes a raft of helpful tips for overcoming fear and building self-confidence, his immediate reaction was, “Oh, I don’t like sexy, thank you.”

Is it possible that the fear of public speaking is sometimes so great that even when faced with theopportunity to improve their skills at minimum cost and effort, folks are just too plain scared totake that important leap forward and just do it?