The pre-reqs of public speaking

What makes a good public speaker?  A strong voice?  Lotsa guts?  The gift of gab?

If you guessed any of these, you’d be right, but they’re the tip of the iceberg – literally, only the part you see.  When I talk before a group, there’s much more involved, and since I’m flying across the country to keynote a women’s breakfast in California this week, I’m in the midst of it right now.

The humiliation of airport security

I fly often and am pretty immune to security demands, but yesterday was the worst.  My husband and I were going through security at Reagan National in Washington, D.C.  I had loaded the bins with my coat, my scarf, my boots, and my liquids.  When I approached the scanner, the security guard (male) indicated that I should remove my sweater as well.

The sweater – oversized in that it fell to my thighs, but not thick – was my clothing.  Beneath it, I wore thin leggings and an even thinner layering tee shirt.  I would never, ever leave my house in the leggings and tee shirt alone.