Sorry seems to be ....

Seth Godin, author of "Purple Cow" and "The Big Moo" (both of which were raffled off as prizes at the D53 Fall conference last weekend), has a good blog article with some tips for Toastmasters.

I was at a gala a few weeks ago (featuring no less than ten speakers). At least 80% of them began their talk by saying,
"I know you're hungry, but..."
or "I know it's late, but..."
or "I know you want to go home, but..." and then apologized for giving a speech.

If your speech needs to be prefaced by an apology...
don't give it.

That's why they call it giving a speech. It's a
gift. If you have to apologize, it's no longer a gift, is it?