I hate public speaking. Really, I hate microphones. I've had more than one awkward moment in front of some pretty important people while holding a microphone in my hand. And once, I'm pretty sure the crowd was rooting for me to fail. Chris Anderson , head of TED , reassures me by phone that all audiences are sympathetic toward nervous public speakers. He should know. Anderson has helped hundreds of people — famous and not-so-famous — prepare to deliver speeches to live audiences in the thousands and digital audiences in the millions. And now, he's distilled all that knowledge into a book, TED Talks: The Official Guide to Public Speaking. When I got my hands on a copy, I flipped immediately to the section on controlling your nerves. Ahead, we've reprinted the sage advice from one of the world's most famous public-speaking instructors. I'm still not over my dislike of microphones, but at least now I know some coping mechanisms for next time I have to face my fear.