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My Knees Were
Knocking
"Do you still get nervous before you
speak?" This is my most frequently asked question. My reply?
"Yes, a little." A touch of nervousness is good, It means you
care about your program and it's effect on your audience.
Last night I had a different experience. I was edgy, had
trouble sleeping and even experienced moments of panic
concerning a 15-minute program I was to deliver in the
morning. After a few hours of what passed for sleep, I popped
out of bed to practice my speech for the umpteenth time. I
knew it backwards and forwards, yet I was as jumpy as a cat in
a dog pound.
I have delivered thousands of programs to some of our largest
companies and have been on stage in front of the crême de la
crême of the corporate world; performed in top casinos in Las
Vegas and Atlantic City, and on TV reaching millions of
viewers but to date I've never had a more important speech,
with so much riding on it.
Right before I went on, my introducer gave me final
instructions, "Whatever you do just don't embarrass me and I
hope you're not going to tell any of your jokes!" Ouch!
My palms were actually sweating. I prayed, "God, if You've
ever thought about taking me young, let it be now!" Then came
my introduction:
"Our speaker this morning is a professional speaker, humorist
and magician. The title of his program is 'Live, Laugh and
Learn.' Please help me welcome the commencement speaker for
our fifth grade graduation, Jeff Justice...my dad!"
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