Looking at that blank page for the first time can be a killer.

Some people get blocked by it. What do I do? What am I going to say? This is too hard.

My advice for my clients, as well my college students [no better test for a public speaker than standing three-hours every week in front of a class room of independently-minded young adults], is to just remember all your normal day-to-day experiences and use them as building blocks for your performance.

All the things you do, and say, and think about during your day-to-day life is valuable. Most of your best ideas are imagined, honed, and communicated during normal life.

Since you are a leader, you are always talking with colleagues, explaining plans and thinking up strategies.

Whenever you have an interesting idea, or thought up an effective way to describe something, or heard an interesting question from a colleague – put it down.

Each week, you’ll find that these recorded bits have grown into a dozen or more lines of text. Without even trying, you’ll have enough material to work with in a month.

Of course, these bits will be rough. You’ll need to polish them, organize them, fill in the blanks, build on them and so on. But you will have a starting point.

You’ll never have to stare at a blank white page again. It will always, already, be full of great stuff to work with.