Fear Of Public Speaking: My Most Embarassing Moment

By Denise N. Bates


Fear of public speaking -- it's more widespread than we suspect. My daughter, in fact, was an A student in college whose last required class was public speaking. She was so anxious about facing an audience she called me to say, "I may have to drop out of college; I just can't do this dad. Public speaking makes me physically ill."

You are not alone. Speaking in public is truly scary for most people, including many whom outwardly seem very composed. Our brain shuts down normal functions as the 'fight or flight' impulse takes over.Presentations skills and public speaking skills are very useful in many aspects of work and life. Effective presentations and public speaking skills are important in business, sales and selling, training, teaching, lecturing and generally entertaining an audience.

Therefore, improving the confidence and capability to give good presentations, and to stand up in front of an audience and speak well, are also tremendously helpful competencies for self-development too.Presentations and public speaking skills are not limited to specially gifted people - anyone can give a good presentation, or perform public speaking professionally and impressively. Like most things, it simply takes a preparation and practice to improve your skills and abilities.

As I mentioned previously: you are not alone if the thought of speaking in public scares you. Giving a presentation is worrying for many people. As we saw before, presenting or speaking to an audience regularly tops the list in surveys of people's top fears - more than heights, flying or dying.As an illustration, I quote two popular sayings which feature in many presentations about giving presentations and public speaking:

On another occasion a few years later I was a member of a public speaking club that met weekly. We used up a lot of time that night discussing our annual party for spouses and friends we wanted to invite. The discussion finally came down to what beverages would be served. Coffee, of course, was on the agenda and why it took over a half hour merely to discuss coffee I'm about to tell you because what happened is another of those unforgettable images etched in my mind thanks to Mr. O.For nearly fifteen minutes he gave an impassioned speech about why we needed to rent special coffee urinals, instead of urns, and yes our budget was tight, but he felt so strongly that we needed to splurge and rent coffee urinals that well, we were laughing so hard, we let him go on and on about coffee urinals longer than decorum should have permitted. My ribs ached for a week and we're lucky no one laughed so hard an emergency vehicle had to be called to cart them off to the emergency room of the nearby local hospital.

One way to overcome your fear is to use an activity to break down your fear into controllable components. It's simple to do and it really works!Here is an easy exercise you can do if you, like so many others, have a fear of speaking.Tell yourself exactly what you are afraid of."I am frightened to speak in front of a large group."

Explain to yourself why you are afraid."I am afraid because I think everyone will laugh at me." ,"I am afraid something will go wrong."Tell yourself why you shouldn't be afraid. "I have never seen a speaker get laughed off the stage.", "No one has ever laughed at me during my earlier presentations.","If something does go wrong, I can put it right."Close with positive thoughts about yourself."I am a intelligent and well-prepared person.","I can give a solid presentation and make a good impression on my audience."

Quote: Understanding our fears is the first and most important step to conquering them. As the saying goes, don't try to get rid of the butterflies - just get them flying in formation.OTHER WAYS TO HELP OVERCOME YOUR FEAR,Know your material inside out. Remember the quote: prior preparation prevents poor performance. It could also say that: prior preparation presents perfect performance.Know the room- arrive early and check out where everything is. Walk around and look at things from the audiences view.Make contact with your audience before you speak. It's wonderful to have made friends that you can connect with while speaking.Use good relaxation and breathing exercises. Watch how you speak about yourself. Change: "I am so nervous", to: "I am really excited." What you say is what you get. Change the nervous energy to enthusiasm.

The only way of curing the fear of speaking in public is gaining confidence, and that cannot be achieved overnight. So if you want to cure yourself of such a problem, be ready for some grueling hard work for a decent period of time. There are no quick remedies that will build you up in a jiffy for your Board meeting next week and only an extensive effort on your part will be likely to treat you of your problem.Having said that, however, one must also accept that treating Public Speaking Phobia is fairly simple.

REMEMBER,PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATIONS ARE JUST ONE FORM OF COMMUNICATION AND YOU COMMUNICATE ALREADY EVERY DAY!You can do it!Would you like a more satisfying and rewarding life? Are you looking to get a great job? Or do you have important choices to make about your future? Then I invite you to explore this web site.I am passionate about helping people create and live rewarding, purposeful and happy lives. I offer practical and creative services to assist you in finding solutions for your career and personal wellbeing. I provide services that cover a great variety of issues and offer diverse range of approaches.




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