Don’t Start in the Negative All too often I hear someone prepare to address an audience and they begin with a negative comment or an apology. This is fine for the inexperienced speaker, but not if you are looking to impact the crowd in a powerful way. These comments usually go something like this: “I hate speaking in public,” “I’m not a public speaker,” “I’m sorry I’m so nervous,” or “I’m the last person who should be up here.” Many times the audience will not notice if you are nervous or they will give you a minute to get going before they decide whether you have something important to say. So begin without apologizing. Even experienced public speakers get nervous on occasion; however, most of them know they can crush those butterflies by powering through the first fifteen or twenty seconds. I have, on rare occasion, seen someone start off weak but deliver very powerful remarks because of the raw emotion. This is the exception, however, not the rule.
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