Last week, I found myself standing in front of a crowd of ten people. Everyone was staring at me. One guy was frowning. I was feeling a little jumpy. I wondered whether my fly was open.

Crap – I couldn’t remember my opening. I had no idea what to do with my hands. I remembered that “thought leaders” usually touch the tips of their fingers together, so I did that.

“Okay,” said the coach. “You have two minutes – Go.”

I was attending a course: High Impact Presentations, conducted by Dale Carnegie Training. This was the first session, where we were given 2 minutes to talk about ourselves in front of an audience. They were also going to film us – judging by the imposing camera at the back of the room.

Screw it. It wasn’t cheap to get here – Slightly less than $2,000 for a ...