When you get up to give a speech, what reaction do you hope to get from the audience? What will be your grade on your own inner report card? 

Have you ever split yourself in two while talking in front of the room? One half of your brain is busy thinking, "This is the information you came for. This is the message you want to hear. Listen up, because this is really interesting stuff and you'll gain terrific benefits from it," while the other half is playing saboteur going, "Uh-oh, did I leave anything out? Are they listening? They look bored. They're not paying attention. I feel faint. My mouth is dry. My hands are shaking. They think I'm making a fool of myself. Why did I think I could do this? I'm no good. I'm a failure! Aaarrrrghgghg!"

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You're an expert in your field who's been asked to join a panel on the latest techniques for achieving specific goals. You've done your research and chosen some of the most recent, cutting-edge practices that you use with your own clients. You've prepared carefully, your bullet points are all in a row, and you've even planned ahead for any objections to your conclusions. All systems are go. 

      You're the next to last speaker, so you're listening carefully to what the other panelists have to say. To your horror, one of the speakers ahead of you has chosen a similar point of view, even used some of the same examples, and said almost exactly what you were going to say! What are you going to do?

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