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Have you been watching "American Idol" this year? I decided to take a peak at it for the first time since the show went on the air, after hearing over and over again that this was "the best crop ever."

For those who have never watched it, the idea is fairly simple: thousands of hopefuls line up for a chance to display their singing talents (or lack thereof) on TV. In the beginning stages of a given season, the thousands are culled to a mere 24, who compete week after week for a chance to win a recording contract and go on an "American Idol" tour.

Every week, after a contestant finishes his/her performance, three judges give their opinion. Two of them are pretty nice while the third one, Simon Cowell, is, well, caustic is as nice as I can put it. Once in a while, he rips into the contestants pretty nastily.

This newsletter's topic deals with one of Cowell's comments: "I need to see the real you on stage."

Many people, when they hit the stage, become someone unrecognizable. The person in front of the audience is completely different from the person you would meet in a hallway. Some of the things I have seen:

• Trying to become a standup comic: this is a misguided attempt at being funny. Most people have heard that in order to have an effective speech, you should include humour. That's fine, but you can't go overboard and your humour needs to be appropriate to your topic and to your audience. If you are uneasy with humour, and you never laugh at anything in real life, it may be better to stay away from it.
• Changing your language: I have seen people change the way they speak in order to appear more "erudite" in the eyes of the audience. In doing so, their language seems forced and unnatural. Not only is this annoying to the audience, it also puts added stress on the speaker because she is constantly watching her language, instead of focusing on the message and what she is contributing to her audience.
• Inserting entertainment where none is needed: PowerPoint slides that contain comics which have no link with the topic; telling a joke just to tell a joke; using props to add a little "something" to your speech, even though it isn't really necessary. These tactics and others are sometimes used to divert attention from the speaker or his content.

These three approaches all  have a common thread: the fear of being ourselves in front of an audience. They may feel "right" when you first try them, but in the end, they all backfire because you are pretending to be someone you aren't.

Many people feel that somehow, they aren't adequate enough for their audience, although most of the time that feeling is unfounded. Besides, even if it is true, you can't improve yourself by becoming someone else. You can model someone else, you can get inspiration from someone else but you can be no one other than yourself. And you shouldn't try to do otherwise.

Audiences aren't interested in seeing a new Bill Cosby or a new Martin Luther King. They want you. And that's all you need to give them.