Have you ever been asked to make a speech?

Sure, and I have no problems with it.

I was in my early 30s and was asked to give a speech in front of 300 or so people in a formal setting in a hotel ballroom as part of my job.

My compensation was that it was during work hours and I was being paid to be there.

I’m used to standing in front of roomfuls of people, including CEOs, chief nuclear officers, etc. and giving presentations.

Ain’t no big thing.

Absolutely. I took lots of public speaking courses in college. I had to speak in front of the workplace on Tuesday.

Oh, court. Sure, I get paid for that, but I was thinking more of guest lectures at a uni, continuing professional development talks, community outreach, that sort of thing.

Besides, at its best, court is more like a free-ranging debate with the judges than a speech. Best court appearences aren’t speeches. :wink:

I’ve done a few big talks at the Game Developers Conference over the years. I wasn’t ASKED though. I submitted proposals and they were accepted.

I have been asked to give smaller talks though. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was invited to USC to give a talk on game design and participate in a round table discussion. I do presentations at work all the time.

I got over any fear of public speaking years ago when I took part in what I thought was going to be a Q & A session in front of about a thousand people. The organizer thought I was giving a prepared speech instead. I only discovered this when he introduced me. Being thrown into a situation where you have to talk for 40 minutes without any preparation whatsoever and managing do actually pull it off does wonders for your confidence!

I’m a member of Toastmasters, so I’ve given quite a few speeches.