Speaking in Public

OK...I confess. I'm a talker. I've really never met a stranger. I think its a genetic trait inherited from my mother. Yes, she's a talker too as is my brother. I've had to speak in front of classes before in college. I always felt that I did fine. I would get good grades for the presentations.

So when I joined Toastmasters to improve my public speaking, I didn't think that I would have that much fear of getting up in front of an audience. Wrong! I did a speech yesterday on hook lines. I know about hook lines. I'm a writer for heavens sake. I could talk for a while on the subject. I wrote the speech. I more or less memorized the speech. Yet when I got up in front of the audience, I got nervous and started stuttering. Ugh!!! Its so frustrating. I guess I will get better with practice.

The purpose of the speech was to present an organized speech and I think I did that. I had a beginning, middle, and end. So I think I did what I was supposed to for that speech.

My next "assignment" is to do a speech with a purpose. My purpose is going to be to entertain. I'm going to tell my Cliff Castle story. I'll have to rewrite it for the ear, but I think that would a fun one to do....