Being comfortable on stage is important for speakers and aspiring speakers. This is even true for those introverts out there. From the beginning, I considered myself an extrovert. I don't know if that's a learned behavior or not, but I grew up as a preacher's kid watching my dad preach a sermon to a church every Sunday. We would do a lot of traveling as a family going to different churches that were a part of our denomination, so as a kid of a traveling pastor, I spent a lot of time getting called up on stage. My sister and I jokingly called us the "Dixon Family Singers" because there was always a part in the sermon where my dad would invite us to come on stage, and the two of us would sing. I didn't have an option as a kid, so I did it. That experience helped me feel comfortable on stage.

Over time I've continued as a speaker, and I actually really love speaking. In some recent talks that I've done, I've had people come up to me and say, "Wow! Why are you so comfortable on stage?...