The Lost Art of the Great Speech: How to Write It * How to Deliver It

Chapter Seventeen. And So to Speak

''The human brain is a wonderful organ,'' said the entertainer George Jessel. ''It starts to work as soon as you are born and doesn't stop until you get up to deliver a public speech.''

If your brain seems to slip out of gear at the very thought of making a speech, it might be of some comfort to know that you're not alone. Unreasonable fear of public speaking is much more common than you might expect, and anyone who has never experienced it can't possibly understand how it feels.

You may recall from Chapter One that The Book of Lists ranks fear of public speaking number one among the fourteen things Americans fear most, along with the fear of high places, the fear of sickness and death, and the fear of insects. ...