Peter Schuyler Quotes

I consider myself a pretty good extemporaneous speaker. Even though I don't like speaking in front of people, I don't think I'm bad at it.

I'll never forget my first moment of looking out on a convention audience with my mouth open like they were kidding me.

There are some who speak well and write badly. For the place and the audience warm them, and draw from their minds more than they think of without that warmth.

I am not a good cue card reader.

Speeches are much easier if you read them. I just find when I do that, it's harder to fire up the crowd.

I was so afraid to even read a paper in front of my classmates. It is very funny because at that point my teachers would never have believed that I could speak in front of an audience of over 2,000 people.

One of the areas I have a little less confidence in is giving any kind of a speech.

When you're working in front of an audience, you have incentive to excel.

I'm the world's worst after-dinner speaker. I need pictures to respond to. I was the voice of the lottery balls once and got the sack.

I used to be incredibly afraid of public speaking. I started with five people, then I'd speak to 10 people. I made it up to 75 people, up to 100, and now I can speak to a very large group, and it feels similar to speaking to you one-on-one.

Then there was a maiden speech, so inaudible that it was doubted whether, after all, the young orator really did lose his virginity.

Go ahead, Teleprompter, Go ahead!

I was in sixth grade the first time I was required to speak in front of an audience. I had terrible stage fright and felt quite ill, in fact, by the time I had to give my little talk to students in another class across the hall.

I was very nervous about giving speeches for a long time.

I am not a speaker. The more you do it, the easier it becomes, but I always want to be prepared, and I always practice my speeches; I never do it off the cuff.

Sorry, public speaking isn't really my strong side.

Extemporaneous speaking should be practised [sic] and cultivated. It is the lawyer's avenue to the public. However able and faithful he may be in other respects, people are slow to bring him business if he cannot make a speech. And yet there is not a more fatal error to young lawyers than relying too much on speech-making. If any one, upon his rare powers of speaking, shall claim an exemption from the drudgery of the law, his case is a failure in advance.

So I am hoping my second outing to your wonderful university turns out differently, because it would be highly embarrassing if I said, “Good evening Yaleites” or “Yalers”, or whatever you guys are called, and got stuck at Yaaaaa…. That wouldn’t make for much of a speech.

You kind of half-prepare a speech in your head, and then you get up there and then you end up saying nothing that was in your head before you went up there. It's a very weird thing. I never do award speeches too well.

I'm liking the idea more and more of just standing up with a microphone and talking.

I know there are limits to what a coach can accomplish in improving speechmaking unless the subject is a diligent student of himself.

Talking points are a core set of messages an executive or politician utilizes in communicating with stakeholders. It's a term of art for having an outline of your remarks.

I used to fear public speaking. My voice would shake, I used to forget to breathe. Now it's pretty easy for me.

Getting up in front of an audience is my biggest motivation.

I like to say whatever comes to mind when I am in the ring and work off the reaction from the crowd.