As a boy I loved being on stage. But by the time I was a teenager I had somehow lost that joy and confidence. I was mortified of public speaking. When called upon in class I’d freeze – whatever I wanted to say gone into a black void. It was humiliating.

The Internet had just taken off and what started as a welcome distraction turned into a career in digital marketing. Then traditional marketing keeled over and suddenly I headed up all of marketing for a small software company.

In 2011 I challenged myself to overcome my fear and get out there. I read up on the topic. I practiced. Then spoke at my first event in front of an audience of 50 at Email Marketing Summit. I had my slides as a visual aide so I wouldn’t tumble into the blank black void. And it worked. Lots of other conferences and even more webinars followed.

These days I’m still nervous every time, but I’ve got my love back for speaking, engaging and interacting with people. I even get a laugh every now and then. Life’s good 

With my work I try to encourage you to do the same. Get yourself out there!
Here are some tips on how to get over your stage fright and get started.

The side benefit: with your new-found courage you unlock one of the most powerful ways to drive an audience to action. Webinars.

They’re the only marketing channel that let’s you build a true, human connection at scale. And in a time characterized by a fundamental discomfort with media and advertising that real interaction is what builds trust and gets results.

My tips on how to host a killer webinar are sure to put you on the right track.