Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent has the world abuzz and has generated name i.d. and popularity for Ms. Boyle that any politician, public figure or CEO dreams about (aside from the current President, in a good way, and Bernie Madoff, in a bad way.)

Five lessons that every speaker can learn from Ms. Boyle:

1.  Everyone is Nervous- Unfortunately, Susan’s way of handling it is not normal.  Her fear was evident in both the interviews prior to and following her performance.  Watching closely, you can see her hand tremble as the judges question her. She even loses her train of thought while answering a question….

2. How you handle it makes all the difference - Susan Boyle exemplifies the phrase “Grace under Pressure.”  Watch her focus in-between cueing the music and beginning to sing — a quick glance down, both hands grip the microphone, and a small smile comes to her lips — we all entered her zone at this point, and she knew it.  Every speaker can take his or her audience to a similar “zone.”  How?

3. Practice Matters - a lot!- I don’t know a lot about music, that song or Susan Boyle, but I do know this — that was far from the first time Ms. Boyle sang “I Dreamed a Dream.”   Everyone always asks for the “killer app” to eliminate stage fright.  Practice.

4. Presence - Susan owned the stage, even while nervous, even while being booed and even while being questioned. She stood center stage with her shoulders back, eyes focused, smiling, and her body language, while self-deprecating and humorous (which does not work for everyone) was authentic.  She was not trying to be something she was not, and that certainly helped her hold the stage.

5. The Audience is with You - Whether you believe it or not, your audience does not want you to fail.  Very few people are naturally comfortable with speaking in public, and your audience would rather not be bored to tears or watch you fail — they would much rather be engaged, enlightened, and/or educated.  The crowd Susan Boyle faced was borderline hostile in the beginning, and three minutes later would have bought anything that she was selling.  Three minutes later.

*Susan’s appearance has been blogged into submission, and won’t be analyzed here.