Speaking Anxiety by Gerrie Ferris Finger
I make these plans months in advance — or my publicist the wonderful Patti Nunn does — to speak at conferences or festivals like the upcoming Decatur Book Festival in the suburb of Atlanta on August 30-31. The festival — the largest in the Southeast — is sponsored in part by The Atlanta Journal Constitution. I’ve lived and worked in Atlanta for over thirty years, twenty of which I spent as a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. So I’m looking forward to giving a twenty minute speech, right? Well, I’ll be happy when I step off the podium, hoping that I have conquered the foremost of my fears. Fear of speaking in public Fear of what people think of me and my presentation Fear of losing control Fear of looking foolish Internet speech experts are good sources of advice, unless you’re a blithering case and then you need a shrink. I’m not there yet. For my next big presentation, I’m going to take my cues from the Mayo ...