Public speaking is a little bit like getting undressed in a crowd. Your voice and face are naked, your ideas are exposed, perspiration is sliding down your nose, and flushing red makes you shine like a traffic light in the dark.

How do I know? I was that guy in my teens, better in my mid-20s, and a fine public speaker by middle age. No one needs to wait so long. Here’s what I learned and what can be observed in my 2013 speech above:

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION!

Who do you want to be? Are you relieved when the teacher doesn’t call on you in class and the time runs out before you give your oration?

As terrible as this makes you feel, you can turn your misery around as a motivator of improvement. Think of yourself as the clay in a sculptor’s hands, waiting to be shaped.

You have something to triumph over — to master and delight in. Discomfort must be endured because you won’t give stem-winding talks at first. Take my dad’s advice: Every knock can be a boost. If you get pushed over, you will learn why you fell, arise, and do better.

Talking to a rapt audience is fulfilling and instills a sense of command within you. Offering a voice that captures attention is beneficial and lifts your ego. Most of those who suffer from public speaking anxiety don’t reveal the best they can be. Too many spend a portion of their lives avoiding opportunities with the potential for gratification.

Here’s an amusing example of someone who distinguished himself with talk:

Hale Boggs was the 17th Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives. He’d given a speech — a smashing triumph, at least in his mind.

The Congressman and his wife were leaving the auditorium, driven away in a limo. Feeling more than a little puffed up, the fine fellow reflected on the ovation he received as he uttered:

You know Lindy, there just aren’t that many great men anymore.

Lindy Boggs, herself no wallflower, couldn’t bear the man’s overblown ego. Her response punctured his balloon:

You are certainly right, dear. And what’s more, there is one less than you think!

OK, you don’t have to be like the Congressman, but you can have more worthwhile reasons to admire yourself than you do now.

Here’s what you have to consider, one thing at a time. Improve your performance in moderate-sized steps. As noted, I model some of these steps in the video of a speech I gave in 2013:

• Don’t overthink. Don’t say you will begin to strive for eloquence next week or next year. Start now. Set aside thought and take action.
• Become used to listening to your voice by using a recorder. Read something you might enjoy. You can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses once you are accustomed to how you sound.
• Attend to what you want your audience to take away, not what you are doing right or wrong. Recognize the opportunity to educate, entertain, and help them.
• Write your speech and do your best to memorize it. Putting your head in the text diminishes how much you have your eyes on the audience, and they have eyes on you. Bring the manuscript along for security, but don’t refer to the page too often.
• Now, dramatize the script. Exaggerate. Others are unlikely to think it is extreme. The alternative is a monotone, which you will achieve unless you mold and heighten what you are saying further than you are comfortable with. More, not less, is the ticket.
• Weaving your material into a story is always helpful.

• Listen to masterful speechmakers. FDR, JFK, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King Jr., Adlai Stevenson II, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, and more are on YouTube. Imitate them if you wish. You will find your style in time.
• Practice the way you play. The expression is used by elite athletes and those who train them. I’ve worked with some. The idea is to marshal all your skill and effort in preparation and focus as if on game day. Imagine the audience in front of you and act out your intensity. Speech-making must have drama.
• Go to the auditorium or classroom and step on stage ahead of the event to establish familiarity and a bit of comfort. Make sure a lectern is available on which to put the written copy. If you require a microphone, inquire about this.
• You need adrenaline! Some amount of anxiety is useful. If you begin to speak as if you don’t care what you say, you will bore the audience. They won’t listen to you if you don’t sound interested and alive.
• Yes, too much juice (adrenaline) will cause jitters. Even so, the fear tends to disappear within two or three minutes. I’ve seen this in legendary musicians — the presence of nerves and mistakes and their disappearance. Missed notes happen even to the best. Most of those paying attention won’t notice them. If your pants slip down, that will get their attention. Be sure to wear a belt!
• Wait! Once on stage, glance around, smile, and when you are ready, focus on the people in their seats. If they aren’t quiet, let them catch on by displaying your silent patience. Standing and pausing creates control of the assembly. Indeed, those who might be talking to each other are often quieted by those near them.
• Try to fix your eyes somewhere in the center of the crowd and vary your gaze a little from time to time. Don’t put your head on a swivel. The thing might fly off!
• Slow Down! Most of those who are anxious on stage speak too fast. 

• The legendary orchestra and opera conductor Carlo Maria Giulini considered music akin to visual art. The Maestro conceived of silence creating the background and sound offering the foreground. Use tempo changes as you recite, adjusting the volume of the words and moments between the sentences as you proceed.
• Make a forceful sound. Enlarge your voice and your presence. Consider the rostrum your domain. Stand tall. The auditorium is filled with people who want you to do well. Why would they wish for anything else?
• Remind yourself that few people will pick up on the extent of any anxiety you experience. Fewer still will remember. Like all of us, the attendees have their own issues to fill their brains. If you are terrific, however, they will be pleased. Still, most will forget you unless they become your fans.
• Talk back to disquiet rationally and decatastrophize your emotions by remembering you have survived much worse.
• If you want regular practice and suggestions from peers (a sensational idea), go to Toastmasters.

The extent of success and congratulations might surprise you. Sometimes, the listeners will laugh at things you didn’t intend to be funny but think you did. Let them. Few of those listening believe they could do better. Indeed, many suffer from public speaking problems themselves.

You are beginning an incredible adventure in growth, self-confidence, and mesmerizing strangers.

Life is short. Turning a weakness into a strength can be a heady experience. Don’t let changeable limitations prevent you from enjoying it.

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The marvelously talented Michael Kaplan created and donated the video to the Zeolite Scholarship Fund.

The first watercolor is of John F. Kennedy, prompted by Neitha Hussain and generated by Midjourney AI.

Next comes Martin Luther King, Jr. Finally, a third watercolor was produced in the same way as the previous two, this one of Winston Churchill. They are all sourced from Wikimedia Commons.