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Someone once told me that of the top two fears the majority of people have, one is speaking to a group of people. I can't remember what the other one was. At the time I was moments away from speaking to a rather large crowd in an unfriendly setting and I had strong confirmation of the one fear. The other did not seem to matter...

We tend to shy away from public speaking because of this fear. Or because we are not narcissistic glory hunters.  But here is the thing!
___

You may be a student and some company wants to award a bursary to someone in your class. You are one of the top candidates. The successful candidate will have to speak at a shareholders meeting. Or maybe at a press briefing.

### They will choose the better communicator! <br><br>
___

You are great at your job and you have been doing it for a while now. Your wife falls pregnant and you need to earn more. A position opens up in your company. It is essentially the same job, except you will now at times need to represent the company at meetings with clients. There are three strong candidates for the job, including you.

### They will choose the better communicator! <br><br>
___

You and your team have been working hard on a project. It feels like the most important thing you have ever done. It is nearly finished but to make it perfect you need a little more funding. Someone needs to convince an unwilling board or committee to grant the extra funding. You would be devastated if they said no.

### You need to be a good communicator! <br><br>
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Someone you love dies. You are heart-broken and you need to find some closure. At this person's funeral, you will be doing a eulogy. It feels like the last gift you can bestow on this person. You want to honour and celebrate this person's life. You want to do it well.

### You need to be a good communicator! <br><br>
___
You apply for a job. This job is perfect for you and the salary is made in heaven. You are one of several candidates and there is not much to choose between all of you. The interviewing panel looks at one another in confusion.

### They will choose the better communicator! <br><br>
___
It is important to think about this. Here are some points to consider.

1. Public speaking is a skill that you acquire much like the skills to drive a car. __Practice, practice, practice.__
1. It is too late to start practising when the big moment arrives. In the big moment, you will do what you have practised. Start practising now!
1. You do not practise public speaking to feel good, to look good or to be admired. You practise the skills to help you accomplish your goals.

I hope you will start practising today!

### One last point

If you are confident in your public speaking skills and know for sure that you do it well, you need to take this point to heart. I know that you are not going to believe me and that you are going to think this one is for others. If you think that, __this one is for you!__

#### You need to speak shorter!
It is the KISS principle. All good public speakers are great kissers!

__K__  eep
__I__ t
__S__  hort
&
__S__  imple

The more confidence you have and the greater your skills become, the more you need to be reminded to kiss.

Stop dodging opportunities to practise skills you will need somewhere down the line. Guaranteed.

@reonlouw