They say that one of the biggest fears in life is public speaking. While it can be intimidating, it is an essential skill needed in almost almost any line of business today. My first foray into speaking was not exactly a stellar performance.
I had done some public speaking in academic settings, but not much past that. Approximately two weeks after my arrival in Buenos Aires with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the office was hosting a training session for about 100 members of the five Federal law enforcement agencies in Argentina (Federal Police, Gendarmeria, Coast Guard, Aeronautical Police and Customs Service). As a new part of the office, I was asked to present a two-hour block on intelligence gathering and analysis to the group in Spanish.
While I was very familiar with the material to be taught, and had no issue expressing myself fully in Spanish, I was still a bit nervous. In preparation, I put together my slide deck (yes, this was quite a bit before PowerPoint) and practiced it several times the night before and that morning in my hotel room. As a result, I was fairly confident that I could pull it off without much trouble.
One of the agents in the office by the name of Ricardo had a very outgoing personality and loved to be the center of attention. Ricardo was Mexican-American and was a master of words and wordplay. He would often go into a crowded restaurant and ask the maître if they had a table for the Mexican Ambassador – he never claimed that he was the Mexican Ambassador, but most people assumed that he was, and we always got a table and overly attentive service. Ricardo was also a singer, so he felt comfortable in front of a crowd and loved an audience.
On the day in question, as I was getting ready to head up to the podium, Ricardo was in charge of introducing me. And what an introduction he gave. He stated: “Ladies and gentlemen, you are all in for a real treat. Today we have with us the best, most knowledgeable and most experienced intelligence analyst to ever have worked in any U.S. government agency. Chris is a highly-sought after expert and accomplished speaker whose audiences generally pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege of listening to him. He has advised governors and presidents. He is personally responsible for the arrest of thousands of drug traffickers and the seizure of millions of dollars in illegal narcotics. He is by far the most important person that will be speaking at this conference. And we are lucky to have him here with us today. But before he speaks, Chris has agreed to grace us with a song. Please help me welcome him with a round of applause!”. He then handed me the microphone.
If you thought that I was a bit nervous before, I now looked like a deer caught in headlights. Everybody was standing and applauding, expecting the performance of a lifetime. And Ricardo was standing up there with this stupid grin on his face.
I can only say that I did my best that day. But I’m sure that the crowd was severely let down as there was no way that I could live up to the hype. And no, there was no song to start. The letdown would have been far worse if I had tried.
I look back at it now and laugh. Public speaking is one of those things that gets easier every time you step in front of a crowd. And since that day, I have been in front of more than a few. The thing to remember is that we all have our unique experiences to share, and as long as you come at it from that angle, most in the audience are willing to listen.