FW: Training in Speaking (was: What should I wear for a phoneinte ---rvi ew?)

[KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com]

About public speaking...
One thing I've found is that I backslide when I don't 
get any practice.

I never had formal training, but I spent most weekends 
for many years, instructing beginners in the fine art 
of parachuting. Classes ranged in size from 2 to 42, 
and in age from 18 to mid-50s (we did have some in 
their seventies and older, but other instructors just 
happened to get the few old folks).

Of the many hundreds that I instructed, I never lost 
any <grin>, and only two ever refused to jump.

I found that the ease and relative fearlessness spilled 
over into business and other speaking that I occasionally 
had to do.

BUT, after 7 or 8 years out of the instructor game, 
I find that the lack of current practice has me 
feeling nervous and sweaty before more than a small 
roomful of people, even when I'm well-versed in 
what I'm presenting.

Similarly, I suppose, I always feel a little wobbly 
the first time or two on a bicycle each year, though 
it quickly comes back with just a bit of practice.

I'm considering Toastmasters as a way to stop the 
decline and maybe improve a bit. It can ONLY be a 
benefit to be able to stand in front of groups of 
strangers and sound as though you enjoy talking with 
them and as though you are sure of yourself.

So, I guess my original point is that if you can 
belong to some interest/hobby group that often 
"indoctrinates" beginners (be it a sport, a hobby, 
a volunteer organization), and if you can achieve 
a level of technical competence such that you are 
entitled (expected?) to pass it on to others, then 
you have found yourself a built-in opportunity to 
slide into public speaking. When you are the expert, 
talking to a roomfull of eager listeners, even the 
shyest among us can quickly lose the nervousness.
In my case, it helped that my students generally 
believed that their lives depended on "getting" 
what I was showing them...   <vbg>

TW tie-in, interviews, presentations, yadda-yadda.

/kevin


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