"...Become as little children..."

Only when you make yourself open--vulnerable--to your audience can you approach them from a position of strength and confidence.

We naturally put up a shield between ourselves and what we imagine our audience to be (judgmental, antagonistic, impatient...), so we can feel safe in our own detached space. Unfortunately, we can't reach our audience--or, perform to our potential--by protecting ourselves against imaginary harms.

We must embrace the situation presented by public speaking, not try to avoid it. We must orient ourselves to seeing the audience as they are: willing participants. And we must keep ourselves open to our audience: you can't engage with what you keep at arm's length.