Many people feel very nervous when it comes time for them to present a speech or public performance. Quite frankly, it is amazing that this phenomenon is so prevalent. To overcome these fears, perhaps an examination of reality will help to gain a new perspective on the art. First, if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak or perform before a large audience, you should remember that everyone sitting in the crowd has come to hear what YOU have to say.

It does not matter at all what you will be telling them, good or bad, because someone has given you permission to express whatever is on your mind. If the audience does not like what you tell them, they can heckle or leave, but it is a pretty sure bet they will not demand to come up and bump you from your position to express their own opinion, because they are too afraid to do it themselves. You should remember that you have agreed to speak your mind, give your opinions, or share your expertise, and the worst thing that can happen for doing it is that the audience will not appreciate what you say. If you allow others to sway or change your mind about your own convictions, you probably should not have been invited to speak with authority in the first place.

Here is a perfect example to illustrate my point. While working as a technical instructor for a well known software company, I was presenting information that I was being paid by the company to relate to the class. About half way through the first day of class, I discovered that there were a number of students who were so disappointed with the information they were receiving, they simply decided to leave the class. I was not given an opportunity to address their concerns or respond to any of their issues; they simply walked out during the break period. Before the class resumed, I was informed by someone that these people had left in a huff, and that I needed to take appropriate steps to regain control over the remaining students, because they were all buzzing about the incident.

When the class resumed, I could tell the remaining participants had lost respect for my role as instructor, and were not prepared to show me appropriate courtesy when I regained the floor. I had truly lost their willingness to connect with what I had to say. To counter this situation, I told the class there were some changes that needed to be made before the next session resumed. I confessed that I was aware there were a number of students who had opted to leave the course for reasons they did not care to share with me, so we would be trying a different approach, in case there was anyone still present who did not appreciate the presentation format. For the next chapter of information, instead of presenting the information in lecture format, we would be playing a game I called