"According to a variety of opinions, an individual's greatest fear is public speaking. The next greatest is death. Does that sound accurate? That means to the average person, if you show up at a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy." John Steinbeck, Novelist

When you are writing and speaking in public, powerful communication begins and ends with the what -- the content. The how will come easier. If writing training and presentation skills training help you in gaining power (and you will have confidence because you'll be an expert) you'll have no worries writing or speaking in public.

To get there, aided by writing skills training, remember the three foundations of effective business communication, written or spoken:

Writing is thinking. Compared to an unplanned conversation, writing -- whether a presentation to a client or a report for the shareholders or a sales proposal -- presents you the time to show how smart you are.

Know your audience and your readers. How much do they know already? Are they specialists? Do they want to be amused or instructed or persuaded? What do you want them to get from your report?

Study and rewrite and, in the case of delivering presentation skills training, practice. If you do not check your work with care before hitting the "send" button, or practice the style and delivery of your presentation, you risk looking sloppy and unprofessional. It's called QC (quality control), and without it excellent communication is nearly impossible.

D. Griffiths, Writer