Editor's note

By Megan Hirt

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I’m not a movie buff or a red-carpet fashion enthusiast, but the Academy Awards is my must-see TV event of the year.

It’s not the glitz or the glamour or the anticipation of who’ll win that’s fascinating. For me, it’s watching celebrities effortlessly pull off acceptance speeches before an audience of millions—celebs who just days before were photographed in unflattering moments of spontaneity and debauchery now standing calm and composed, eyes focused, shoulders back, voices suddenly rapt with confidence and articulacy.

How do they do it? Where does someone as unstable as Amy Winehouse get the composure to speak candidly before the world? I get tongue-tied, flushed and shaky just giving a speech before an audience of 15 in Bailey Hall.

And I’m not alone: Scientific surveys abound that place public speaking atop the list of Americans’ worst fears, though I doubt it tops being buried alive or experiencing a power outage during the Oscars.

But never fear, dear readers, because whether you need to prepare the perfect wedding toast, pen a riveting political speech or just survive COMS 130, Heather’s story on page 13 has got you covered.

While most of our public speaking skills will never be on par with those of, say, Martin Luther King Jr., Oprah or even a tipsy Jack Nicholson on Oscar night, we can all master basic skills and strategies to make getting up in front of a crowd a little less formidable.

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