Your palms are sweaty.
The clothes you carefully chose feel tight.
The room feels slightly too warm.
That tightness in the middle of your chest is rising and falling.
You can sense the current speaker finishing up.
That means you’re next.
On stage.
In front of people.
Trying to talk sense and look professional while your body fights you every step of the way.
Public speaking is the ultimate fear.
People are afraid of looking stupid.
Because looking stupid = loss of social status
In the human brain a loss of social status is identical to death as for most of human history it literally meant death if we were ejected from the tribe.
That’s why public speaking is on the same level as death.
Ever been to an event where someone is dragging random people up on stage?
Did you feel the fear that it could be you?
Toastmasters has been successful for 93 years because rather than dragging people up on stage at random it gives them a crucial ingredient.
Confidence.
Confidence through structure and framework.
Builds them up.
Elevates them.
Gives them a template for success.
Gives them clarity on how to own the room.
Convinces them they’re good enough and wont die.
Without confidence you can feel like you’re dying on stage.
With confidence you not only own the room you own the market.
You become the authority.
