More often than ever before, we are called upon to speak in public. We're all familiar with that sinking feeling which hits when we are about to speak before a group - butterflies in the stomach, dry throat and limbs that seem to be made of lead.
For many of us, that "fight or flight" response can make even the strongest legs turn to jelly, and the loudest voice transform into a strangled squeak. Even Cicero suffered from performance anxiety: "I turn pale at the outset of a speech and quake in every limb and in all my soul".
We may have grown up with the belief that we are "no good at public speaking", that it's boring (for the speaker and the audience) or that it is the domain of a select few. But these debilitating symptoms can be overcome with an understanding of why they occur and, of course, with practice.
Through a series of practical exercises, Lorraine Merritt - head trainer on the NIDA Corporate Performance program - explains how to develop the characteristics of a confident, competent public speaker. It's not enough just to take a big breath, stand up straight and speak clearly. There's so much more to successful presentation than knowing how to give a PowerPoint slide show.
'Talking The Talk' explains the very real physiological and psychological changes that occur when we are engaged in public speaking, and offers practical solutions to enable even the most timid to overcome the jitters and become accomplished public speakers.
