Welcome to my brand spankin’ new blog!
Friday, May 25th 2007 @ 3:50 PM
As you know, we already boast two other excellent blogs on the Public Speaking iGrOOp, both written by professional speakers (Rich Hopkins and Bo Bennett). “What do you bring to the mix?” you ask, as the spotlight sweeps across the darkened stage, and settles squarely in the center of the stage, illuminating a single object, which I affectionately call….”me.” Well, it’s my job—no, duty—to balance things out a bit, and show some representation for the “little guy.” I lay no claim to the status of “professional speaker”. Not because I’m humble…just because, well…I’m just not that good! At least not yet.
“Yet.” That’s the operative word here. You see, I am, like all of you I suspect, passionate about developing my public speaking skills. My plan for this blog is to share with you my adventures on that path, as well as other sundry items as we stop and smell the flowers, and occasional skunk cabbage, along the way. Care to join me for the journey? Alright then…
I chose Stage Time! as the title of my blog, an obvious nod to New England’s native son, Darren LaCroix, the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking. So far as I know, Darren holds no copyright on the term, so I think I’m safe on that count, unless I receive a “cease and desist” letter. 
The first time (perhaps every time?) I heard Darren speak, he exhorted the audience to “never turn down stage time”. The theory driving the advice? Every time we speak, we improve. We walk off the stage with precious experience that we can invest in our future speaking opportunities. Over time, the affect is like compound interest—our experience and skill grows by leaps and bounds. I resolved to take Darren’s advice to heart, and have subsequently taken advantage of virtually every opportunity to speak that has been tossed my way in my personal and professional life. I have to say, the advice has served me well. Even when I have “bombed”. And I have bombed. As Darren would say...Ouch! Not many times, thankfully, but a couple. And believe me…a couple is enough! In fact, I discussed one of my “bombs” with a friend earlier this week, as we were discussing the phenomenon of nerves, and strategies for controlling them when speaking. My friend had witnessed my “bomb” first hand. And when I brought it up, his eyes lit up, and he laughed for about 5 minutes straight just recalling it. It was a doozy, after all! I was pleased that the mere mention of my performance could provide such entertainment value to my friend. “You looked like you were going to explode!” he told me. I was. Or something worse, I feared. My face was red, my voice was shaky, my knees were weak. Just before I was called to the stage, I damn near ran out of the room. I mean it. I was about to bolt. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I had committed to speak, I would have been gonzo. It was the worst experience of stage fright I had ever experienced. And I hope I never experience it that intensely again.
Do I regret the experience? Not for one second. Sure, I was embarrassed. But no regret. The reason: because to me, that experience is what it’s all about. Not bombing, of course, but challenging yourself. Getting uncomfortable. Stretching. Fighting the fear, and persisting in spite of it. If I experienced near-death stage fright, and lived, I know it can’t possibly get much worse!
Moments after my “bomb”, another friend, an aspiring speaker, approached me. With a sympathetic look on his face he shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and said simply but knowingly, “Stage time.”
It was all he needed to say.