This is the Read to Lead podcast, episode 494.

To manage anxiety, we have to take a two-cronged approach.

We have to deal with symptoms and sources.

Symptoms are what you experience physiologically,

and sources are the things that initiate and exacerbate your anxiety.

Many of us tread having to convey our ideas to others, often feeling ill-equipped,

anxious, and awkward. Public speaking experts help by focusing on planned communication experiences

like slide presentations, pitches, or formal talks.

Yet most of our professional and personal communication occurs in spontaneous situations that

creep up on us and all too often leave us frustrated and stumbling for words.

How can we rise to the occasion and shine when we're put on the spot?

Hi, I'm Jeff Brown, and this is the

Read to Lead podcast, the podcast dedicated to your personal and professional growth, and it's those

issues and more that we're tackling today. I believe that if you want to achieve true success

in business and in life, that intentional and consistent reading has to be a part of that plan,

so what I try to do is bring

the key insights and main ideas from some of my favorite books straight to you directly from the

authors themselves. Today, that author is Matt Abrams. He's written a book called Think Faster, Talk

Smarter, How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot. I'll be asking Matt to share

proven techniques for dealing with anxiety when speaking on the spot,

how to go from viewing interactions as threats to opportunities for learning, collaboration, and growth,

the benefits to our audience when we think deliberately about how we'll structure what we're going to say,

...