The CEO of the mid-sized insurance company squirmed on the podium. As I watched him, I imagined him as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz after Dorothy doused her with water. Screaming "I'm shrinking, I'm shrinking," the Wicked Witch disintegrated.
Although no one doused this CEO with water, his approach to speaking at his company's meeting was definitely all wet. He stood behind the lectern with his glasses perched on the tip of his nose and read his speech word for word. He gripped the sides of the lectern, looking like a frightened tourist clinging to the rope on a shaky bridge crossing a perilous canyon. From the sound of his voice, I thought he was reading a eulogy for a distant relative in a flat, emotionless monotone.
But this was no eulogy. His speech marked the kickoff for a new customer service initiative. Everyone in the company was ready to be inspired and motivated. Yet instead of getting excited, people fidgeted with their papers as the CEO fidgeted with his words.
Just 30 minutes earlier, he and I had talked about the importance of the employees buying into this initiative. Then, he had gestured energetically, projecting an inner confidence that commanded my respect.
What happened? One minute he was a powerful CEO; the next, a shrinking speaker. Why do dynamic people suddenly lose their power when called upon to speak to an audience?
I call it "fear of foolure," also known as "the fear of looking like a fool in front of a room full of witnesses." This fear causes more consternation than any other aspect of business communications. What actually happens and what can be done about it?
Hide Behind the Mask:
Business people who struggle with public speaking often tell me they seem like another person when they have to give a speech. They become nervous and stiff, forget to breathe, and sweat like a Saint Bernard at noon in Florida. To make matters worse, they concoct a speech that sounds like a physics professor giving a dissertation.
Quite simply, they become disconnected from themselves and put on masks that portray the persona of the leader they believe will be credible and likeable. They hide behind their masks hoping to be taken more seriously than if they showed up as themselves. Deep down, they harbor a belief that their "authentic self" is not interesting enough. At the root of most speaking failures is the psychology of speaking, not the act of speaking. People simply don't trust themselves as they are. They think they have to be more appropriate, more poised and instantly smarter when they stand in front of an audience.
The CEO I had talked with in the back of the room was a passionate and energetic human being. The CEO at the lectern showed up as an overly serious fuddy-duddy drone wearing a mask. It needed to be removed.
Stand In Your Power:
If you are that speaker behind the mask, you can learn hundreds of tricks to make you better. But none of them will make any difference if you don't bring your "authentic self" to the podium.
Audience members simply don't trust phonies. They want leaders who are real, who speak to them and not at them. Your authentic self is the powerful, confident and secure person that knows your job and does it well. You must first trust that your authentic self is enough, that you don't need to be anyone else.
So when you speak, stand in your power as you do in other areas of your life. Speak from who you are and what you know. Understand that it's fine when others disagree with your point of view. Indeed, it's unrealistic to expect everyone in your audience to agree with you. And, remember, your job as a speaker is to take a stand.
Talk Your Walk:
People who "walk their talk" do what they say they'll do. That means their words and actions line up congruently.
Your job as a speaker is to "talk your walk," to verbalize in a speech who you are and what you believe. When you speak with congruency and deliver content that educates and inspires, you won't shrink in your shoes. Instead, you'll be on the road to influencing audiences through your authentic speaking power. 
