How my Book on Speaking Found its Title

In early 2000, I opened a catalog of courses offered at the Learning Annex in San Francisco and my eye caught the title of a new program, “7 Steps to Fearless Speaking.” I was stunned because I had been teaching a class at the Annex titled, “How to Overcome your Fear of Public Speaking.” Since my students typically raved about the breakthroughs and the life transformation they experienced in my class, I wondered why another instructor had been hired to conduct a program so similar to mine.

Then, reading further, I saw that I was listed as the teacher of the new “Fearless Speaking” course. Changing the title had been a marketing decision, and the director assumed I would go along with it. I needed to decide if and how I wanted to restructure. I had already been teaching for eight years, I was attached, and I was certain of the success of what I offered.

The challenge of redoing my program turned out to be the opportunity that opened a new door. I reorganized the course content into the promised seven steps and, in the process, discovered a format that

• has helped thousands of people overcome stage fright
• learn to be themselves without fear
  
• speak with confidence in front of others

My book title, Essential Speaking: The 7-Step Guide to Finding Your Real Voice, is the outcome of this redesign and I look forward to sharing the steps with you in my future blog posts.