The last item of business is to prepare you for the presentation. This can be either very simple or possibly the toughest thing you ve ever done in your life, depending on your level of experience.

We do know that of the five things that people fear most are:

• going to the dentist

• an operation

• flying

• dying

• public speaking

Let me put it as simply as possible to be effective in this great wide wonderful world of telecommunications, and to really make it in the real world, you should begin today to perfect your skills as a speaker and presenter. Our industry has allowed thousands of salespeople to perfect their speaking and presentations skills in front of relatively small audiences before venturing out in front of larger groups. So if you re not fully comfortable with standing up in front of three, four, or five people at the end of a conference table, this is a perfect chance to learn and perfect you speaking skills. There are many wonderful books published on the subject, and I know many people that have benefited from involvement in their local toastmasters group, or any number of in-house Presentation Skills training.

I should mention here that I conduct a one or two-day Presentation Skills class, for up to 15 attendees. I video tape the presenters in a thoroughly non-threatening environment, and everyone has a lot of fun perfecting their speaking skills.

We work on all the different aspects of speaking, including...