You're not alone

If you shake in your proverbial boots when you have to speak before a group, you're not alone. Even such great speakers as Lincoln, Churchill, Adlai Stevenson, and the esteemed editor Henry W. Grady suffered from stage fright. Fear of speaking in public shows up in The Book of Lists as one of the fourteen things Americans fear most, along with the fear of high places, the fear of sickness and death, and the fear of insects. Can you guess how the fear of public speaking ranks on that list? Number one.

Sickness and death? That's way down in sixth place. So, when someone says, I'd rather die than make a speech, he just might be speaking the literal truth.

Although increasing your ability to serve your organization or your special ...

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