Blogs

They say that standing in front of people and speaking is the #1 fear people have. Guess what the #2 fear is? The fear of DYING. And...I'm sure high up on that list is the fear of dying WHILE in front of people.

If you think that making a living as a professional speaker means that fear goes away - guess again. As Erma Bombeck once said, "You need the courage to submit your story and find out how good or bad you are. And if you think it gets any easier for professional writers, you're wrong."

I always have anxiety when I have to perform, and that anxiety STARTS when I write new material. My creation process is a true MESS - trying to make sense of the tsunami of ideas in my head and the misspelled phrases I've written on unopened junk mail, as well as the sometimes drunk rantings on my iPhone recorder. It's a TRUE mess. Seeing that mess fills me with frustration and anxiety because of the looming gig on my calendar that demands it not be such a mess.

But what COMFORTS me is to realize that ALL of our SUCCESSES start out as MESSES. And the people who succeed have the willingness to navigate their way through the mess to find the great material that's hidden within.

There's nothing as unfunny and un-fun as writing a speech or writing comedy. Remember how on Seinfeld, Jerry and George would brainstorm ideas for their "show about nothing" - and everything came easily and made us laugh?

In the REAL WORLD, writers are often frustrated, anxious, doubtful and frequently find themselves staying up past midnight staring at a laptop and guzzling pitchers of coffee, DESPERATELY hoping something will come to them other than the AWFUL first, second and third drafts they've been staring at for hours.

So many people WANT to write a book, do standup, or be paid as a speaker, but give up too quickly because they're weighed down by the feeling that every idea has to be perfectly formed in their head BEFORE they start writing it.

In my workshops, everyone learns that material doesn't come out of you fully formed like a newborn colt that can just leap to its feet and gallop. New material comes out RAW and UNFORMED, and most of the time just lays there like a baby bird, until with rewrite after rewrite, you finally feed it enough that it can fly.

So... don't paralyze yourself with the need to be PERFECT. The only need is to start. And whether you're writing your story, a standup act or a speech, it doesn't matter how you start; just START - and COMMIT and NURTURE and PARENT that idea, until it gradually takes on a life of its own.

- Judy Carter

Judy Carter, a keynote speaker at the 2014 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, is the acclaimed bestselling author of The Comedy Bible, which Oprah Winfrey touted on her show and the Washington Post described as a "number one comedy essential." Ms. Carter began her career doing standup comedy and now teaches people to use humor in public speaking. Her books have helped people worldwide discover their creativity and launch money-making careers. She has appeared on more than 100 TV shows, and has shared the stage with Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin, Deepak Chopra, Andrea Mitchell and Bill Clinton, to name a few. Her new book, The Message of You, teaches readers how to use life stories to inspire others and advance their careers. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.