You may have seen the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry Seinfeld jokes about how most people would rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy. Now this may not literally be the case, but when surveyed, a fear of public speaking ranks higher than a fear of death.

For many people standing up and giving a presentation to a group of people is a truly terrifying experience.

If you love making presentations, then I have some good news for you, if you hate it, then my news is not so great. In order to be a 7 percenter, a top performer, you have to become a great communicator. There is a silver lining for those of you have not yet mastered public speaking, by great communicator I mean this in a broad way.

You have to be great one-on-one, to small group and also, alas, in front of larger groups. So if you’ve already got the one-on-one thing down and you’re pretty good in front of a small group, than your about half way there.

I know some of you will be kicking and screaming and justifying and rationalizing why you don’t need to hone your presentation skills and let me just tell you that there is no getting around this one.

Think of the powerful, successful people that you know personally or that you’ve heard of.

Do these people fall apart, lose a night of sleep before a presentation?

Do they routinely deliver bad speeches?

Or do they approach the presentation with confidence?

I’m sure it’s clear to you where 93% of the people fall on this one. So, even if you have some apprehension about public speaking, make sure this is on your personal development list and you don’t let this one skill set keep you from reaching your potential and becoming a 7 percenter. Get started today. Pick up a book. Attend a seminar. Join Toastmasters. Whatever it is, do something today that get you started in mastering this skill.