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During a seminar I gave on public speaking, Andy Rogger-Amies described to me how he had once given a talk to a group of 20-30 medical colleagues. He was very careful about what he said in-case he said or did something stupid. Andy thought that his peers might know more than he did and would judge him harshly for any slip-ups or indiscretion. This created a difficulty for him in delivering the speech because he was watching every word, and speaking from a place of protection.

Speaking in front of a group of professionals can be daunting if you are unwilling to receive their judgements as just an interesting point-of-view. Dr John Demartini describes how, as a Dr. of Chiropractic, he was asked to give a talk to a convention of dentists. Some of the audience were so irritated and unwilling to be lectured by a chiropractor on dentistry that they got up and began to walk out. The Master of Ceremonies admonished them and recommended they sit down and give the speaker a chance – not an encouraging beginning for the young chiropractor. Demartini gave his talk, which was so revealing and enlightening to the dentists that he was asked by the audience to continue speaking to them for an additional hour!

Where have you been unwilling to say what you know for fear of being ridiculed, put-down, unaccepted and rejected by your peers, and those you stand-under?

When you care what other people think about you; about what you say, you can never say what you would truly like to say. There can never be a freedom or joy in how you speak and what you speak about. You are always in-defence when you care that others will judge you.

When you are in-defence the drawbridge is up, the doors are locked and barred, the guns are loaded and you are secured inside a fortress of your own creation. Guess what? You are the only one who has the key. If you are hiding behind stone walls who can see you, who can hear you, who will applaud you, who will appreciate you and who will be grateful for you? No one! No one will know that you are there, and no one includes … you.

The word fort, as in fortress, is a key part of the word comfortable. When you function from the apparent safety of your com-fort-zone, can you really be present here and now? How many comfort-zones have you created where you hide hoping that someday, someone will hear your muted call, unlock the door and set you free? The reality is that your fortress is made of glass and everyone sees your discomfort, your pain, your frustration, your suffering and wonders why; when the chains that bind you are all unlocked and the doors that bar you are all broken.

What would it take for you to shrug your shoulders, step into the spotlight and speak as you, the truth of you, the greatness of you and all of you? What would that look like and what would it take for you to see it as a possibility?