It is said that public speaking is one of the greatest fears anyone can have. For me, however, it’s quite the opposite. I feel more at ease addressing 200 people than I do speaking with just one.

My first taste came in school when, after winning the class vote for a speech on politics I had written and delivered, I had the ‘reward’ of delivering alongside the other class winners in front of the whole school. It was more a stand-up comedy routine than a speech and, in my own biased opinion, I was by far the best. However the teachers didn’t see it that way, and I didn’t win.

A clear fix.

Undaunted I have since taken every opportunity I have been given to speak in front of an audience, with my time at BNI delivering education slots affording me a regular captivated crowd. You can see more of the BNI Education Slots I delivered here.

Other forays into public speaking I have dabbled with include writing, performing (and winning with) a stand-up comedy routine in aid of Wirral Mencap, speaking on a panel at search and social conference SAScon, being interviewed in a series of TV shows for Channel 5 (some of which you will find on YouTube) and, of course, being the big gob at front when I ran the Chester BNI meetings for 12 months.