More people would rather die than speak in public. It's our greatest fear. I think of this because tomorrow is my weekly Toastmasters meeting, and I am giving two presentations. One 90 seconds long (ish) on how easy it is to speak on Table Topics (an impromptu 90 second, don't know until I'm at the podium and see the topic what I'm going to talk about). The other is a PowerPoint (don't be impressed, it's three slides) presentation on recruiting new members. It's scripted, so I have no prep work other than winging the opening and conclusion. Am I nervous about doing this? Not anymore. Practice makes perfect and all that jazz.
Interestingly, authors - who live for words - seem to be the most petrified when it comes to public speaking, pitching to agents and editors or even saying hi to a stranger at a conference.
What is your biggest fear? Irrationally (aren't they all?) mine is falling down a flight of stairs.
Today's word count: zero (so far)
NaNo pages: 51 with no chapter breaks
3 comments:
Actually... the dark. Particularly when combined with basements.
Clowns, octopus furnaces, spiders, ear wigs...erm...I have issues.
I'm not afraid of public speaking. I figure if someone asked me to speak about something and I bollocks it up, it's not my fault they thought I was knowledgeable enough to talk in public.
My biggest fear is probably explosive decompression, like when the pressure changes suddenly in a diving bell and everyone gets torn to bits.
Oh, and elevators.
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