Many people come to me for help because they get nervous when they stand up to speak. The truth is we all get nervous and that's a good thing. Good if we "use" our nervousness, that extra shot of adrenaline, to make a better speech, and get "up" for the moment. But too often untrained speakers let their nervousness destroy them. They get so nervous they don't sleep the night before or forget what they were going to say. During their speech, their voice cracks or their uncontrolled gestures are so distracting that their audiences don't even remember what the speech is about.

Take your nervousness and channel it into a great speech instead of ruining your speaking opportunity. Take control of those sweaty palms, butterflies in your stomach, trembling hands and weak knees. Remember what the legendary American actress Helen Hayes used to say:

"Everyone gets butterflies in their stomach. The trick is to get those butterflies flying in formation!"