Last night I was privileged to help judge the presentations of the Dallas Campus Capstone Class. I thought the presenters basically did a good job and it was clear a lot of work went into the presentations. Learning to be relaxed and confident in front of a group of people only comes one way - from experience.
Here is a list of nearby Best Southwest Toastmaster Clubs. During the break, why don't you drop in on one and try your luck at it. Their full website is here. One of the contests is called Table Topics. Three or four individuals draw topics from a hat and have one minute or so to prepare their 'two minute speech.' This pretty well emulates the idea of an elevator pitch, the length of time one has on an elevator to make a proposal to someone.
Doing this sort of thing is all about learning to lead by establishing a vision and mission for an audience. Google the Patton speech on You Tube if you have not seen it, think of Reagan challenging Gorbachev to Tear Down this Wall, JFK declaring in German that he is a Berliner, think of MLK dreaming of a more perfect world, words matter and the ability to deliver those words makes all that possible.
Most if not all of you shirk from this challenge, like all phobias and fears it must be confronted and overcome. And that comes from experience.
