When I first started speaking in public, I had a rather lofty image of how each engagement would begin: I’d be summoned to the stage with thunderous applause as a beaming host detailed the many reasons I was perfectly qualified to be the day’s expert. Screeeeeeeeech. That’s the record player scratching as reality sets in. As well-meaning as hosts typically are, more often than not, they fall woefully short in priming the audience for their guest speaker.
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