Sioux Falls Woman Overcomes Fear of Public Speaking

Did you know that the Wall Street Journal reports public speaking is the number one fear in America. The fear of death is ranked number two!

Sherri Matthews, a member of Toastmasters International, a public speaking organization, knows that for a fact.

“Yes it is! My passion is dance. So, I can get up in front of 5000 plus people and perform a dance routine. But, speaking in front of five people was nerve racking. I almost couldn’t breathe. What I learned through Toastmasters was this: the secret of a great delivery is preparation before delivering a speech. The practice portion is the biggest part of the whole process.”

The bottom line is this: do what you fear and you will have the power!

“Absolutely! When I am called upon to speak these days, I actually look forward to do it! I really consider it an opportunity to share with others. Instead of avoiding public speaking, I now embrace it---as the result of weekly Toastmasters club meetings."

Thanks to her involvement with Toastmasters, Sherri has achieved both personal and professional success.

“I started because of my position at work. I had to do a lot of speaking before groups. I was very nervous---even talking at staff meetings. When I was called upon to speak, I couldn’t complete a sentence or thought. A co-worker encouraged me to come to a Toastmasters meeting. I actually joined a club.  I loved it so much! I grew so much. I could tell a big difference from the first speech to speech ten.”

If you’re fearful of public speaking, Sherri, who has been a Toastmaster for 12 years, offers this hard earned advice.

“Take it one step at a time. Find a group that can help support you and provide feedback. Sure it takes courage to take that first step. But once you get through the first step, everything flows from there. You take it one speech at a time. Once you receive  encouragement and support, you start to realize you’re doing a lot of things really, really well. I have seen that people that stood up and were shaking all the time during their first presentation. However that changed from their first presentation to their tenth speech. They have grown leaps and bounds. Their confidence levels is at an all time high.They can take that to work and any place they want to share a message.”

To find out more about Toastmasters, Sherri Matthews encourages you to check out their website: Dakota Avenue Toastmasters.  It could change your life!