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I've done a lot of public speaking, and, given a sufficiently large
audience, my knees are always weak, my hands always shake, and my
throat dries up.
So I make sure I have a glass of water handy, and I don't make slow
gestures (the weak knees have to take care of themselves).
But these symptoms are caused by ADRENALINE, not fear. I'm not afraid
of public speaking, any more than I dread roller coasters. But they
both involve a rush.
I think that many people overrate their own fear of public speaking
because they don't separate, in their own minds, the concepts of
the rush you get when you do something exciting from that of debilitating
terror -- so they feel that it's a miracle that they survived a
presentation without embarrassing themselves, when in fact they were
in no danger of doing so.
Just keep that glass of water handy, and don't make slow gestures.
-- Robert
P.S. Personally, I'm so bad in rehearsal that practicing is just
depressing. Being very tired can help keep you calm, but it increases
bonehead error like knocking things over or losing the ability to
do simple addition. Your mileage may vary.
--
Robert Plamondon * Writer * robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (408) 321-8771
4271 North First Street, #106 * San Jose * California * 95134-1215
"Life is like an analogy."
