Many people, given a choice between speaking in public and a root canal, would opt for the root canal. That’s not to say anything bad about root canals, after all, who doesn’t love dental work?  But the truth is, public speaking is something that most people would prefer to avoid. I can’t say its something I’m particularly good at.  But I’m nowhere near as uncomfortable as most people and there have been times when that has come in handy.

One such time occurred on a commercial set. This particular set was designed to resemble a talk show. As such, it had a stage area where two celebrities were seated and another place for an audience of about 100 to sit. I’d already instructed the audience to listen to the celebrities discussing our product and to react naturally. I warned them there were five cameras running and that at any time, one of those cameras could be shooting the audience. I encouraged them to relax and have fun and we began to roll.

Everything was fine at first, but then one of the cameras broke down. The celebrities chatted onstage while the crew frantically diagnosed the problem. In an effort to prevent a mass exodus of the audience to the bathroom or the craft service table, I assured them we’d be back up in minutes. Of course, I had no idea if that was true (it wasn’t). We simply couldn’t afford to lose the time it would take to get the audience back into place. And that’s when an audience member asked me to tell the Jerry Seinfeld story.

Back when the audience had first been seated, before my speech about having fun and relaxing, I’d introduced myself to them by saying, “Hello, I’m Jerry Seinfeld.” It got the laugh I’d hoped for; I admitted that I wasn’t Mr. Seinfeld, but told them I did have a Seinfeld story that perhaps I’d tell later. Now, at the urging of the audience, “later” became now. After a quick glance to see if the camera was ready, I launched into the story.  If you’re so inclined, you can read that story here.

http://www.jeffvibes.com/therandomvibes/2011/06/almost-famous.html?rq=famous

The story garnered plenty of laughs but when it was over, the camera was still not working.  And that’s when an audience member asked if I was married. The marriage question prompted me to tell the “How We Met” story which naturally you can read here: 

http://www.jeffvibes.com/therandomvibes/2015/03/how-we-met.html?rq=met

At the conclusion of that story, incredibly there were still problems with the camera. The celebrities were still chatting amongst themselves so I had no choice but to tell yet another story. I don’t remember how it came about, but I ended up recounting my experience in the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake and yes, of course you can read about that here:

http://www.jeffvibes.com/therandomvibes/2010/10/day-earth-shook.html?rq=quake

After that one, the camera was at last repaired and our shoot continued. Later, many of the crew expressed their appreciation for both my story telling ability as well as my seeming ease in front of the crowd.  In a way, I could have told them it was magic.

When I was in the sixth grade, the middle school decided to have a talent show. Back then I was an incredibly thin (the polite way of saying skinny), athletically challenged (the polite way of saying uncoordinated), shy kid who’d never been on stage in his life.  But somehow (and it stuns me to this day), I found the nerve to audition for the show. The audition went well and before I knew it, I was now the skinny, uncoordinated, shy kid on stage in front of the whole school that performed magic. Yes, magic.

I’d been interested in magic for a long time by then and I’d read several biographies of famous magicians. Somehow, I got it in my head that I could walk out on that stage and perform. I remember rehearsing endlessly for my grandmother, who patiently watched the same routine countless times. Finally, when the day of the show arrived, I was ready.

I was definitely nervous when I strolled out onto the stage wearing an old oversized sweater (I didn’t own, nor want to own, a suit). I carried with me a newspaper that I appeared to be reading as I walked. When I got to the mike, I introduced myself and announced to the school, that I was a magician. Then I showed the newspaper to be empty on both sides and with as much flourish as a skinny, uncoordinated kid could muster, crumpled the paper into a ball. When I pulled the ball apart, low and behold, a deck of cards was inside. It was magic!

Now with my nerves subsiding, the next trick involved that very deck of cards and I needed a volunteer from the audience. The kid who came up turned out to be incredibly nervous. I asked him to pick two of the four suits and he froze for a moment. He couldn’t remember the suits! Now the truth is, I was not a very good magician. I probably weighed seventy-two pounds soaking wet and I was not in any way an athlete but I did have, even then a surprisingly quick wit. The exchange that followed, at the unfortunate expense of the poor volunteer, was more comedy than magic but it made me a star.  Thankfully, the volunteer proved to be a good sport and we laughed about it later.

These days my magic act is far behind me but I’m sure that experience has helped me to be at ease whenever the need arises. I’ll definitely still admit to a few nerves on occasion. When that happens I try to remember that sixth grade show, because if that skinny kid could do it, then anyone can. Also, it beats getting a root canal.