Facing a BIG fear

For the longest time, I've had a major fear of public speaking. I go into Cardiac Arrest whenever I was faced with this situation. But at one point in my life, I was introduced to a solution that would help me get over this fear completely and in fact help me become the public speaker everybody envies; the one with the confidence of a lion, the conviction of a dictator and the charisma of a rockstar...

Ever hear of Toastmasters? It's an educational non-profit organization that teaches leadership and public speaking skills all over the world. Well, I am currently a member of a TM club and attend meetings every Thursday. Basically, it's a one hour meeting of about 20-25 people that all have the same dilemma: FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING = FEAR OF DEATH! (That's an actual fact btw!) What we do requires some explanation, and it can be found here: http://www.toastmasters.org/ . The main goal of the meeting is to have a maximum of 2 people to go up to the podium and deliver a speech no longer than 6 minutes. Apart from the speeches, the meeting has an agenda that consists of fun games and roles that encourage leadership and public speaking. Nobody is pressured to participate, as everything is voluntary. I'll admit, when I volunteered to do my first speech, my heart almost jumped out of chest...OUCH!

I had a week to prepare. My first speech objective was called "The Icebreaker" which consisted of a 4-6 minute speech about myself. After 3 days of brainstorming to come up with the perfect speech topic, I finally decided to speak about an event I have rarely spoken of before that seemed appropriate for the occasion: The reason WHY I'm so petrified of public speaking! NOTE: When I delivered my speech, I brought a reporter-type digital recorder and captured the whole thing. My next goal is to post that recording for everyone to hear...it was my first speech in 17 years, so BE NICE! lol

It's 12 AM, the following Thursday...I have to face one of my hugest, biggest most avoided fears: Deliver a freakin' speech!! The meeting starts with the striking of a gavel (judge hammer) on the boardroom table following some opening remarks by the Chairman/Toastmaster. Then our appointed Grammarian comes up on the eraser board to explain to us the word of the day. (which is a random, uncommonly used word every volunteer has to try to slip into their speaking role; lucidity was the word for that day). Then comes the joke of the week, which again is appointed to a volunteer. (ALL roles are voluntary). And finally comes the moment of truth, the dread of the week, the inescapable moment that was stuck in my head for SEVEN STRAIGHT DAYS...the introduction of ME, the first speaker! I admit, I was petrified. Besides, the last time I had attempted to deliver a speech I was in grade 10 English class. Anyways, to my amazement, it went really well! No major jitters, no frog in throat syndrome, a bit of sweat on the palms, but otherwise very satisfying. The feeling accompanied by the accomplishment: R E L I E F!! All that preparation, which is the key to successful speech, paid off. To become a "competent speaker" and be in a position to participate in regional/international speech competitions, I need to successfully deliver 10 speeches of 10 different difficulties. And my goal is to do JUST that. Since that day, my fear has been steadily taking a plunge into the abyss ONCE AND FOR ALL!

The point of this post is to encourage YOU, the reader to mentally say #%&K IT and just grab the bull (fear) by the horns...and believe me when I say this: IT FEELS GOOD!

♪♪~Mario~♪♪