Cathleen Fillmore: Professional Speakers

Mid 1980s Dept: You can t be inauthentic because people will know, said Ms. Fillmore, who promotes professional speakers through her Toronto-based agency. You can t be overly scripted, and you just really have to have the power of conviction of your message. , according to Globe and Mail. In the mid-1980s, she began speaking to church groups and, through work she was doing at a Toronto Spanish centre, spoke to immigrant groups at local coffee houses. By doing small, unpaid speaking engagements, she was able to work on her skills and build up her confidence before audiences she felt comfortable with and anyone can deliver an engaging speech if they have conviction, Cathleen Fillmore, president of Speakers Gold, said in an interview. Although she is super shy herself, Ms. Fillmore recounted how she first overcame her fear by speaking publicly at her mother s funeral in 1985. I forgot my shyness. It was the power of conviction in that message. I needed to tell people what she was really like, she recalled. When the message is more important than you are, then you lose your self-consciousness, which is what stage fright is about. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.