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

Subject: FW: Training in Speaking (was: What should I wear for a phoneinte ---rvi ew?)
From: KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 16:27:59 -0500



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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