fear beyond snakes

there is a fear that has been proven to be beyond snakes and spiders...its public speaking. dale carnegie used to say that you would always have butterflies, you just need to get the butterflies "flying in formation!"

i recently took 20 people through a brief 4 week public speaking course. this was not my first time doing this. i had formerly taught at an internationally known course for nine years. i saw the deep fear and pain of hundreds of people attempting to silence the beast of terror. i've chased people out into the hallways to encourage them back in. i've publicly coached through the idiosyncrasies of speakers to a successful presentation. i've hung by a thread as i watched choice speeches filled with emotions come to a robust end in an explosion of applause. You learn a lot from people as they conquer their greatest fears.

of all of the people i've coached, i remember jeremy the most. he was in a class of 44 business people in the late 1980's. he was unmatched and outclassed by the other professionals in the room. he didn't realize that his boss had sent him to the class as a last resort. he was to pass or be fired!

his awkward style and downcast countenance added to the nervousness of the listeners. week after week, he fumbled through the speeches until week seven. my assignment as an instructor in week seven was to train the class in encouraging one another. encouragement is a powerful tool in the workplace.

as usual, i had to demonstrate what i was asking them to attempt. i looked down and saw jeremy sitting in the front row and began to encourage him. i said, "jeremy, you are a man of courage! Last week, you stood before this class and completed your speech...that...jeremy was courageous!" A strange thing happened at that point. my encouragement automatically went deeper. i spoke to his past, which i had no knowledge of. i said, "jeremy, the rejections of the past will not hold you back any longer...not mother, nor father, nor coach, nor teacher...for today you have become a man of courage!" he began to weep. the class exploded in applause and there was one of those moments where a unique bond happens among a group of people. for that minute, we were one.

The class settled down and a vice president of a bank in the back had his hand up. i called on him and he meekly responded, "could you do that to me?" hands began to rise all over the room. i responded, "better yet, i'll teach you all to do it to each other."

it was a turning point. it was the point where a class becomes a family and true compassion flows among its ranks. we are brothers and sisters together fighting this common fear of public speaking. jeremy graduated and to my knowledge did not lose his job. More importantly, i discovered in front of me, the heart opening power of encouragement in the foxhole of fear.

words of encouragement lift, comfort, and empower.

who's your foxhole buddy? go ahead...rock their world!