Confessions

I was, however, one of those writers who had long been intimidated by speaking in public, and the next day I was to face my biggest challenge yet: speaking on—and moderating—my first panel at Bouchercon. My first mystery had been published four months earlier.

The reviewer’s question got me to wondering just how many of my colleagues were indeed quaking in their rooms. As you’ve no doubt heard, public speaking consistently ranks as our #1 fear. Jerry Seinfeld once quipped that at a funeral, most of us would rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy.

So how did I go from mouse to moderator?

At first I considered taking an expensive fear of public speaking course. Hey—it was highly recommended on the Internet! But when I asked a friend, psychologist and mystery author Roberta Isleib, what she thought of the idea, the shocked expression on her face spoke volumes. “Toastmasters is much cheaper,” she said mildly.

First, though, I attended R.M. Peluso’s one-hour public speaking workshop at Toronto’s Bouchercon. Remarkably, in that short time, she walked us through the psychological and emotional processes of speaking in public, and at the end we each stood before the group and introduced ourselves. Amazing as it sounds, that initial step made me feel as though I’d crossed a line. I began to think that maybe I could do this.

Toastmasters followed, and a more supportive group of people you could not find. With each appearance, my comfort level grew. I also read some of the literature on public speaking and found that, like anything else, it’s a skill that improves with time.

I especially learned the importance of practicing your remarks. Whether you practice silently while driving—or aloud in the privacy of your home—practice internalizes what you want to say and reinforces the voice in which you want to speak. As mundane as it may sound, practicing your comments four or more times makes a world of difference in how comfortable you eventually feel speaking, and in how effectively you get your thoughts across.

I also asked myself: When do I feel most comfortable speaking? My Aha! moment came when I realized it was when I had something I really wanted to say. It was as simple—and difficult—as trying to honestly communicate something I was excited about to others.

Along the same lines, I also realized that everyone in the audience would really want me and my fellow panelists to be relaxed and at our best. In their own way, they were just as supportive as the audiences in R. M. Peluso’s course or at Toastmasters.

This isn’t to say that I’m not a bit nervous when I speak at conferences now. That’s natural—and even desirable. As good actors will tell you, a certain level of stage fright is appropriate. As is a certain unease when you begin writing a new book. The question “Can I do it?” acts as a spur to rev you up and elicit your best performance. If you don’t feel a few butterflies, chances are your performance will fall flat.

All of which is to say that when Bouchercon Co-chair Deen Kogan called to ask if I would moderate a panel on 21st-century crimes at Chicago’s Bouchercon, I took a deep breath and said, “I’d love to.”

How can you get started? I’d suggest joining Toastmasters, which has chapters across the country. They have a structured, time-tested program that’s turned thousands of knee-shakers into relaxed, even enthusiastic, speakers. If no chapter is available near you, why not form your own speakers group with a few friends? If we can create writers’ groups—why not speakers’ groups?

As a side benefit, you’ll discover that speaking in public makes you more polished and confident in approaching other writers, agents, and editors at conferences.

I am here to say that if I can do it, so can you. I can also say from experience that speaking in public can be enjoyable. (Let’s face it, there’s a ham in all of us.)

So start now to hone your speaking skills for those appearances you’d like to make. Don’t you be “one of those authors” who hide in their rooms!

Maureen Robb’s first mystery novel, Patterns in Silicon, was published last year. It introduces Lea Sherwood, chef-owner of a San Francisco restaurant, whose life unravels when a Silicon Valley CEO dies of poisoning over dinner. It’s been described as Julia Child meets The Firm. Her Web site is www.maureenrobb.com.