Stage fright.

See the man with the stage fright

Just standin’ up there to give it all his might

And he got caught in the spotlight

But when we get to the end

He wants to start all over again?

In 2022, while still imprisoned by?Covid?restrictions, with flights grounded and travel near impossible, I accepted an offer from my friend?Lisa Lefebvre?to split the cost of a year’s subscription to?MasterClass.?For those of you not in the know, the service is a streaming platform that give you access to hundreds of video lessons taught by some of the world’s expert authorities on a range of subjects.

“Why not,”?I thought,?“It will give me an opportunity to learn, filling a few time voids.”

Watch it I did.?I viewed a session by Jeff Goody and Rich Silverstein on advertising (just okay); one by Daniel Pink on sales and persuasion (boring); another by Chris Voss on negotiating (okay, but overrated); still another by Malcolm Gladwell on writing (excellent); one by?Metallica?on being a band (utterly dismissible); and finally, one by Annie Clark, better known by her stage name,?St. Vincent, on songwriting and creativity (riveting and sublime).

Covid?abated, travel restrictions were lifted, and me, suffering from a?MasterClass?overdose, let my subscription lapse.

The service still keeps bugging me though, most recently with an email talking about how to level up your communication skills, featuring four instructors:?television news journalist George Stephanopoulos, actor LaVar Burton,?Good?Morning America?co-anchor Robin Roberts, and those advertising Creative Directors, Jeff Goody and Rich Silverstein.???

I’m done with Goodby and Silverstein, but having never seen Stephanopoulos, wanted to hear what he had to say.?His subject is, “Ask Provocative – and Effective – Questions,” but the first words out of his mouth are,

“What’s not to get nervous about??It’s the most terrifying thing most people do – is talking in public.”

I tried LaVar Burton’s next.?His topic is “Make Your communication More Impactful,” but the point he makes is,

“I was nervous every time I speak in public. I’m going to say that again: I’ve been doing this for 45 years; every time I open my mouth in public, I’m nervous.”

I finished with Robin Roberts; her topic is “Public Speaking,” but at this point I am not surprised when she says,

“Yeah, there are times when I’m still frightened.”

Three veteran performers, all acknowledged “masters” of their craft (at least according to?MasterClass), all of whom speak in public for a living. All three deathly afraid of doing the very thing they are paid to do.?

Years ago I was invited to keynote a conference in Athens; minutes before I was due to present to 500 or so listeners, I recall sitting with my wife Roberta:?

“I’m about to go on stage, Honey, and I can’t remember a single thing I’m supposed to say.”

This fall I will address what the conference organizers at the?International Advertising Association?tell me could be as many as a thousand in-person people, with thousands more around the world?Zooming?in to listen.

I’ve given countless presentations – some to pitch business, others to present strategy or Creative work, a few to diffuse problems – plus routinely conduct workshops, so yeah, speaking in public is not new to me.?Although the conference remains months away, account weenie that I am, a draft of the presentation already is complete.?I will rehearse it to an inch of its life.?The day before, I will visit the venue, do a walk-around and a sound check, visualize success, plus get comfortable with the surroundings.

Is comfort possible?

No, not really.

Will I be like Stephanopoulos, Burton, and Roberts?

Pretty much.

Will I get through it?

In spite of my then-rampant pre-presentation jitters, I did just fine in Athens.?In Bucharest, I won’t conquer my fear – that’s an impossibility – but I know how to overcome it, so yes, I will get through it, and ideally, perform credibly and (I hope) then some.

For those of you struggling with presentation anxiety, that’s the take-away:?the goal isn’t to defeat fear, it’s to manage it, so it doesn’t defeat you.?

If you’re traveling this July 4, travel safe!