Do more than prepare. Do more that show up. Do more than deliver the body. Be present with your body, with your mind with your spirit. Be present with your warts, your flaws, your human frailties.

Did you ever consider why the significant importance of this? Because its such a gift to your audience. Your warts, your flaws and your human inadequacies dont make you better. Not at all.

And they do make you human. They allow you to reach your audiences as human. As a flawed human yet as a valuable human none-the-less.

Think of the most recent presidents of the United States of America:

Reagan with his never-ending notes reminding him of what to say. Bush, the father, and his decision to not finish off Saddam when he was at Baghdads gates in force. Clinton and his disgraceful morals and untruths. Bush, the son, and his ride-em-cowboy, shoot-from-the-hip approach to the world stage.

Flawed humans, all. And yet good men, each in his own way doing a fine job leading his country.

Mind you, I dont say flaunt your flaws. I dont say wave your warts in the breeze. And I dont say feature your frailties. I do say youre worthy anyway. You can still go on and deliver value to those you serve. Lots of value.

Who among us speakers doesnt have a story they want to sweep under the rug, red-faced and embarrassed? Who hasnt committed a goof-up they would just as soon be forgotten.

For example, I once showed up in the right city but the wrong State to present a program. The right city but the wrong State! How can anybody be so stupid? Well I proved to be so.

I flew in to Burlington, Vermont at 10:00 PM one night in 1983. I called the Howard Johnson to see if they furnished transportation from the airport to their property. When I looked them up in the phone book I discovered they were in the wrong area code.

Not all that dumb, I quickly deduced that they werent in the wrong Area Code. I was.

The story of how I was awake virtually all night making frantic phone calls to the seminar company I then spoke forscrambling to get air transportation very early in the morningsomehow showed up in the seminar room in the right city in the right Statewith bare minutes to spareand then delivered a fine program despite short sleep and personal tension has regaled dozens of audiences of speakers in Australia, Europe, Canada, and the USA. for nearly 20 years.

Summing up: Show up. Show up with your assets and your liabilities and your message. Give your audience your best. And they will give you their best. And youll feel so good about you.

(Peg: Please note the font size reduced by at least 2 points here:)

Out of that experience I developed an instrument I now call my Speaking Engagement Checklist. Its a camera-ready. Would you like your own copy, ready to reproduce endlessly? And with my compliments. Simply send me a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request. Outside of USA, please enclose a USA dollar bill to cover postage.