Icebreaker

The public speaking club Toastmasters has clubs all over the world, including in Addis Ababa. The club is on summer break right now, but will start up again in a couple weeks. The club meets every Wednesday, so I should be able to attend one or two meetings, depending on if they start before or after the Ethiopian New Year, which falls on the second Saturday next month (previously on the "logical" Ethiopian calendar here). Last year I introduced the secretary at the training center to the club, and she is a regular member now, along with her sister. Yesterday we were talking about the club and I was encouraging her to give her "icebreaker" speech, since she hasn't gathered up the courage to give her first speech yet. We talked about how everyone gets nervous before a speech, but she also admitted that in the back of her mind, she's pretty sure she could do better than a lot of people in her club. I'm pretty sure she would do a great job too, but she was worried that her mind would go blank (even though she'd be allowed to use notes) or, "I-I don't know. Something will happen."
It's often said that public speaking is feared more than death. And that irrational level of fear will afflict some people more than others, but at my Toastmasters club I've often found that those who are most terrified, are actually quite talented. It doesn't have to do with your actual ability, but the higher your expectations are for yourself, the greater your fear will be. It might take people some time to get past the fear and fulfill their potential, but in that sense, being scared that "something will happen" is probably a sign of greatness.
In the end, I told her that I'd try to find a copy of my own "icebreaker" speech, and we talked about how she could talk about the 3 years she lived in India. I also told her I'd be happy to look over a draft if she'd write one up. She said she'd try and set a goal to give the speech in the next month. So, I'm not sure I'll be here when she does, but once she gets past her fear, I'm sure she'll be a contender to reckon with.