King - Fearless Public Speaking: How to Destroy Anxiety, Captivate Instantly, and Become Extremely Memorable - Always Get Standing Ovations

I was sweating bullets.

I made a bad joke, didnt commit to it, and apologized for it. Three cardinal sins within the first minute.

No one in the audience so much as gave me a pity laugh, and the only thing I could hear was my heart beating wildly in my chest.

Public speaking and presenting were never my strong points when I was younger, and it was never more apparent than during that report about owls in grade school. I made the mistake of believing that I could wing it, which meant that my eyes were glued to my notes which were becoming increasingly difficult to read because my hands were fluttering like birds.

Every time I looked up from my notes and inadvertently made eye contact with one of my bored audience members, it was a shock to my fight or flight impulse and I became even more aware that I was bombing.

After I finished my presentation, I excused myself to the restroom where I proceeded to mop myself dry of the nervous sweat I had produced.

It was a feeling of helplessness that I hated. I wasnt a particularly shy child, but whenever I got in front of a crowd, I froze and started acting like someone completely different.

This trend followed me until the beginning years of college where I actually made note of my self-destructive patterns and was proactive about changing them. Public speaking and presenting was an area where I made a concentrated effort to improve, and the first question I asked myself was Who can I watch and copy? Generally a good rule of thumb for novices in any field.

It only took me a second to realize I wouldnt have to look very hard for the best speakers because they were right in front of my face standup comics.

When you think about it, standup comics are amazing speakers. There are two main reasons for this: (1) their standard of success; and (2) they expect negative feedback.

First, for a standup comic to consider a performance a success, they have to be making people laugh, on command, for an hour at a time. Its not just going up there and not messing up, or being mildly charming. Success to them is a laugh riot. Objectively, that must rank as one of the most difficult things to do in the world when you factor in the vast differences in senses of humor that exist. Our definition of a successful performance would be pitiful to a standup comic.

Second, standup comics essentially go to war when they perform. If they dont do well, their audience will let them know by booing, hissing, and heckling, all of which are welcomed. They constantly have to deal with hostile crowds and are in the business of winning them over. Its a scary thought, and a far cry from the consequences the rest of us face if we bomb a performance we only have to cope with varying degrees of feeling awkward.

With hours of watching standup comics perform under my belt, I was able to approach my next presentations with a bit more confidence and aplomb.

Encore! encompasses the difficult lessons I've learned, and the forays outside my comfort zone Ive taken to increase my public speaking and presentation skills so that I can captivate others and be a memorable speaker. Like most of our skills, speaking prowess is easily improvable. You just need a proven compass and a willingness to explore and shipwreck.

The amount of crashing and burning I suffered through at Toastmasters and other similar organizations is impressive and extensive. But my world didnt end, my face didnt melt from embarrassment, and my friends didnt shun me because I flubbed a speech or made a joke that no one laughed at.

Thats the funny thing about public speaking even though youre on the stage and the focal point for the audience, they dont care that much about what you do. They wont remember your missed jokes or fumbled words. Its easier to walk onto a ledge that might crumble if no one is looking, so let Encore! be the blindfold you need to become an amazing speaker.