The thing you may be afraid of ... has already happened to me!

The first time I thought I’d die of embarrassment on stage was in eighth grade.?

Having co-authored the year’s school play – a British-themed cozy mystery –?

I cast myself as the young heiress.?

My vision for the character included stiletto heels, courtesy of my mom.?

Despite diligent daily walking training - you guessed it – I fell.?

On premier day.?

Right there, in the center of the stage.

?

I was mortified.?

For a moment, I contemplated running off,?

but with all the teachers, students, and parents in attendance,?

hiding was not an option.

So I got back into character – spoiled brat –?

and snapped at my friend Alex, who played the butler,?

to help me up and then go fire whoever hadn’t straightened the (nonexistent) carpet.?

The audience laughed,?

and I got an excellent lesson on how to survive a public nightmare:?

Just pick yourself up –?or find a butler to do it – and keep going.

?

After the play was over,?

I was surprised to find that neither my peers nor the adults?

commented much on the incident.?

Instead, they talked about who they liked,?

what made them laugh, and what caught them off guard.?

I believe to this day, that I would have never set foot on a stage again –?

never mind making public speaking a big part of my business –?

if they had responded differently.

?

In hindsight, it was my middle school proof point of?

Maya Angelou’s famous quote:?

“People will forget what you said,?

people will forget what you did,?

but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

I'm glad I learned it early because I've had several incidents like that.

There was the webinar that I hosted with half a blueberry stuck in my teeth;

The time I knocked over the water bottle on the lectern;

and maybe most memorably, the MC gig where I tore the seat of my pants

before going on stage and had to cover my behind with someone's sweater.

And don't get me started on having to wing it because the tech gods interfered!

Listing these incidents like this makes it seem I am super clumsy.

But these happened over a time period of several decades,

so it's actually not that bad.

And anyway, my point is:

None of these things traumatized me off doing what I enjoy –

stepping on a IRL or virtual stage to share my message.

I can guarantee that you won't die of embarrassment either.

So please, get your message out in the world.

We need to hear your voice!

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Confident public speaking is my jam!

If you want to talk about it my top tips or have me help you write your talk,

let's hop on a call: https://bit.ly/CallGoBig

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