Wait... Did I just detect a SHIVER or was that Stage Fright?

Did you know that a group of sharks is called a shiver? Have you ever walked onto a stage to make a presentation and felt a shiver of excitement or anxiety? Now, perhaps you understand why we decided to use the title of SpeechShark for the app and also for the book. The SpeechShark companion guidebook was requested by Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. They realized that an app as effective as SpeechShark would benefit the public, but that many of you may need a guidebook to use along with the app.

Did you know this year marks the 50th anniversary of the television episode where Fonzie "Jumped the Shark". For anyone old enough to remember the television show, Happy Days, the main character Fonzarelli, also known as Fonzie or The Fonz, was water skiing in the ocean and decided to jump over a shark to prove just how cool he really was.

This is where I first heard the term, “Jumping the Shark”. To do this means that you are doing something so amazing that everything after that event pales in comparison. I’m reminding you of this story because I hope that it will let you know that overcoming the fear of public speaking is just like Fonzie jumping the shark. Sometimes, you just have to take a deep breath, believe in your own abilities, and go for it! Or to quote The Fonz, “Heyyyy!”

Having a good plan and a strategy for crafting an effective speech allows you to say, “Bite Me” to speech anxiety. Stay out of the water? Not you, because you will put on your shark skin suit, better known as thick skin, and walk confidently to the stage because you are no longer the guppy in the shark tank! You are a SpeechShark and the SpeechShark public speaking guidebook and app were designed just for you!