It's amazing how many times people ask me, "Where do you get the ideas for your Speaking Tips?"

It rather strikes me as the same as my asking an accountant, "How do you know what to tell your client about his income tax?" Or a doctor, "How do you know what to tell your patient about his illness?" Whatever your profession, you've spent time and effort, not to mention money, to become knowledgeable and experienced. You've acquired a bank of information that you can draw on as needed to help your clients.

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When I speak to groups about becoming a unique and sexy speaker, inevitably someone will pipe up, "Well, you know people are more afraid of making a speech than they are of dying."

Isn't it time we laid that old chestnut to rest? After all, many people feel that way about lots of things. Some would rather die than fly, or bungee jump, or leap from an airplane with a carefully packed parachute and a trained instructor strapped firmly to their back.

At least when you give a speech you've got both feet on the ground. Usually.

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We all know who they are. They’re the speakers who love to get up in front of a group and dazzle everyone with their knowledge and expertise. They have just the right stories, mannerisms, and power point technique. They seem to be completely comfortable in front of the audience, certainly not white knuckling it through their presentations. Of course, we’d like to be like them.

However, often when it comes time to think about giving a talk in front of 10 or more people, suddenly we feel weak as a jellyfish. Our breathing becomes panicky and erratic, legs feel wobbly, brain just won't seem to focus, and we contemplate the choice between fight or flight, feeling like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

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"It's not giving the speech that terrifies me," said a colleague recently. "It's all that anxiety beforehand… those moments, days or weeks before, when I'm planning and preparing… that make me feel sick to my stomach!"

He's not the first or only speaker who suffers from knock-out nerves before giving a speech. Pre-speech anxiety comes in many forms: procrastination, sleeplessness, forgetfulness, irritability, queasiness… there are many more symptoms. They might be due to other causes, but they're very well known to many speakers, from the tentative beginner to the seasoned pro. Why does getting up in front of a bunch of strangers make us feel so scared? And what can we do to prevent it?

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Barry was preparing a controversial presentation to the leaders of his country. In a nutshell, he was advocating that the country take a completely new direction with one of its policies. Though Barry had a few supporters for this daring proposition, he knew the majority regarded his views as radical and unworkable. They were not at all receptive. How could he show them that his new way was better without their jumping to angry conclusions or simply refusing to listen?

What should you do when you know your audience is hostile?

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