Posted by Bob (Md) on January 29, 2001 at 16:07:48:
I unhesitatingly recommend signing up for the Dale Carnegie course. It takes one night a week for 13 weeks. It will probably scare the crap out of you (it did me), because it forces you to come face-to-face with your doubts and insecurities. You do this by giving a series of mini-speeches in front of your classmates. After about the fourth or fifth night, you begin to believe that speaking won’t kill you, and by the time you finish the course (and give 25 or 30 speeches), your self-confidence has grown by about 2000%.
I can personally vouch that it gave me the tools for my last and current job, and is probably responsible for at least a 30% increase in my income over the last 3 years. It also gave me the confidence to wade into new and unknown situations (a “must” in my line of work). Even if you have to take a 2nd mortgage on the family minivan, it’s well worth it.