Ninety percent of people's nightmares is standing in front of 1,000 people. Did you know that? And having to speak. You would have thought it would have been a madman tying you up and taking your eyes out.
When Demosthenes was asked what was the first part of Oratory, he answered, "Action," and which was the second, he replied, "action," and which was the third, he still answered "Action.
One of the areas I have a little less confidence in is giving any kind of a speech.
I had a bad experience doing public speaking at school. I had to talk about a pen for five minutes and it was really hard work. I couldn't wait to get off the stage.
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.
There is nothing more fearful for the average person in our society than to stand before a group of people and speak.
He (Don Drysdale) talks very well for a guy who's had two fingers in his mouth all his life.
In school I was painfully shy. But as soon as I had to get up in front of the class and give a book report, it was alarming - I'd suddenly be very articulate.
I didn't think I was much of a public speaker.
I don't like standing and talking in front of lots of people.
I won the speech competition in class, and I always say this was my first 'spoken word performance.' It was the first time I got on stage and recited something. I fell in love with the stage at the age of 12.
At school I was always trying to con my teachers into letting me act out book reports instead of writing them.
In third grade, I had to an oral report on the state of Oregon. I brought up Big Foot sightings, and I remember there was an argument about whether or not Big Foot was valid history. Ever since then I've been thinking about how subjective history is.
I actually had the opportunity to stand at the lectern in the Supreme Court and face the justices, which was really a powerful thing for me.
And some poets are far better read off the page because they're very bad speakers. I'm thinking of one in particular whom I won't name, a good poet, and he reads in such a dry, boring way, your eyes start drooping.
Sorry, public speaking isn't really my strong side.
I am still working on patter and presentation.
I hate table reads. I hate anything where you have to say the words out loud.
Few speeches which have produced an electrical effect on an audience can bear the colorless photography of a printed record.
5th Earl of Rosebery
As soon as you move one step up from the bottom, your effectiveness depends on your ability to reach others through the spoken and written word.
I never send a story off until I have read it aloud to at least two or three people. Because when I read - and I don't need their criticism, what I need is my own - when I read it aloud, there is a flow, there is a poetry to it.
I'm a horrible public speaker.
The most nerve-wracking experience is an oral presentation in class. And right under that would be doing 'Saturday Night Live' or 'David Letterman.' One of those shows.
I'd like to say a few words about one of the most popular concepts in the modern education--show and tell. Show and Tell is a device created by grammar schools to communicate family secrets to 32 other families before 9:15 am in the morning.
It's much easier to identify and fix problems in language and timing when you hear the words being read.
