As a young man of 16 or 17, my parents forced me to attend a Dale Carnegie Course.
If it were up to me, I would never have gone.
But yes, went and I was one of the 450,000 graduates of the Dale Carnegie Institute.
I even had the certificate to prove it.
Yes, Dale Carnegie was the author of the self-help book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People;”
Yes, according to Wiki, “Dale’s book has sold over 30 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books of all time;”
Yes, Dale was the guy who thought that it was possible to change other people’s behavior by changing one’s behavior towards them. (I still have my doubts.)
Now back to my coercive parents.
I guess my parents thought I needed to develop public speaking skills.
For maybe my mom and dad knew I had a great fear of public speaking or more likely, one of their friends convinced them that the course would help get me through college.
So at the first meeting I was terrified.
The room was filled with adults and I was still a high school kid.
But I survived.
And I learned not to fear public speaking.
And I learned that I could compete with adults.
And the course helped me get through college.
And I went on to teach a public speaking at the Miami-Dade Health Department.
And today, over fifty years later, I still thank my long gone parents for signing me up for that Dale Carnegie course.
So when you’re invited to do a public reading, like at the Mango Writers Conference, remember Dale, buy his book or take the course.
It’s well worth it.
Speaking about our Mango Writers Conference, it is one of SFWA’s most popular annual events.
It occurs this month; I highly recommend you attend.
Our conference director, Ricki Dorn, has put together and excellent group of speakers.
I doubt you know that for a number of years, I ran the Mango Writers Conference.
And I will always remember our members acting out dialogues from Shakespeare or the looks in their eyes as they entered the Jancko’s Backyard Museum (one of our early venues).
Finally, let’s learn to conquer our fears by writing more, speaking in public more, and by taking a few more risks along the way.
Mort Laitner
2022-2023 SFWA President
cc: Connie, Evelyn and Ricki
