Seska, we're happy to learn about good causes like your friend's. Insurance companies can be equally difficult about such things. I think too many believe the goal is to keep you alive, and the quality of that life isn't their concern.

While the borders can be a bit fuzzy, usually that type of announcement goes in Press, as something of general interest.

Good Luck, Shir!

Seska, email insent to you, re: your friend.

P-C, can you practice with a friend who will give you feedback on your speed? Even if you don't do the whole thing, or only do it in chunks it could help.

Happy Birthday, Cash!

You go, Fay! I think that's awesome.

Anti-deluge and negative effects ~ma to you, Ginger.

And now that I've meara-d, I'm off to lunch.

I'm feeling a little better this morning. I really don't want to go into the office and do work, but I've got some stuff I ought to do, so I'm going to get dressed and give it a try. Plus, my lunch is there, so I've got to get dressed if I want to eat. (I only finished half my lunch yesterday, so I left the rest in the fridge at the office for today.)

While the borders can be a bit fuzzy, usually that type of announcement goes in Press, as something of general interest.

I wasn't sure which was better. Do you think I should move it? Happy to do so.

I think too many believe the goal is to keep you alive, and the quality of that life isn't their concern.

That's very much the problem with many of the NHS services, too.

About to reply, smonster - thank you very much for the suggestion.

P.-C., try not to worry! You'll do fine, and people are pretty forgiving of nervous new speakers. Questions will fill up some time; if someone asks something that you already have planned to talk about, don't let it derail you, just say "thanks for asking; I'll be talking about that later, so stay tuned." And if you say everything you need to say and still finish a little bit early, believe me, no one will mind! Letting them go early will make you their favorite speaker.

P-C, keep practicing. You CAN speak slower, it is just not natural for you. Also, how many people are going to be at this speech? If it is a smallish group (20 or less), you can fill time by starting the meeting by having them introduce themselves and say where they are from.

There are about thirty people registered, and more can register on-site.

If I can just make myself speak slower somehow, I should be fine. I have a lot of material, and I expect to have to answer questions throughout. I'm just woefully behind on preparation; I was supposed to have started practicing my talk a couple weeks ago.

Practice taking a breath at the end of each sentence.

You can also - and this sounds silly - practice by listening to yourself say each sentence, as opposed to casting your mind ahead to the next sentence while you're talking.

Get a Post-It note and write "Slow down!" on it. Then before your talk, attach the Post-It to the forehead of someone sitting in the front row.

OK, maybe not. Do you know anyone who will be in the audience? You could have them give you a sign to slow down if you're going too fast. At least that's what we did in high school....