I became an author after the age of 50 and really wanted to teach the things I had learned. Yet, I couldn't face my fear of public speaking. Having signed up to teach workshops for other writers, I had six months to prepare.
First, I went to Toastmasters International. That helped me to get used to speaking in front of people. On the day of my workshop, as the room filled up, I was still afraid. My voice quivered and my mouth was so dry that my teeth stuck to the inside of my lip. Even so, I taught the whole one-hour workshop.
After that, to truly overcome my fear of public speaking, I decided to face another fear. I went skydiving. I made the reservation at Ogden Skydive for a day when I had to work, so I wouldn't think about it too much. I didn't even tell my husband before I went. On the way to my appointment, the song, “Live Like You're Dying,” played on the radio. Here I was, a little grandmother from Utah, being strapped to an instructor and jumping from a plane at 12,000 feet. I knew that if I could go skydiving, I could overcome the fear of anything – including public speaking.
That was my first skydiving experience. The second time, I made a “Leap for Literacy,” raising funds for the Literacy Action Center in Salt Lake City. Now, when I face an audience, I can say to myself, “I'm not afraid of these people. I went skydiving from 12,000 feet!”
My husband made me promise that I wouldn’t go skydiving anymore, but I’m still speaking in public. I speak to church groups, scout troops, schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, drug rehabs and writer’s groups, and I’ve been interviewed on radio and TV. In 2014 I was a keynote speaker for the League of Utah Writers Conference.
–Jill Ammon Vanderwood, author of “Shaking Behind the Microphone: Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking.”
Learning
to
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By Jill Ammon Vanderwood