Whether you’re standing before an audience of businesspeople or your classmates, the effect is the same. All of your preparation flies out the window, your knees knock together and you must force yourself to take the stage. Public speaking is a terrifying experience for most people, but it need not be. Most people would rather have a root canal performed than speak in front of a group of people. However, performing well in this environment is not as difficult as it sounds. In fact, it can be an enjoyable experience once you get past your fear of public speaking.

To suceed in the corporate world and to some extent your own personal world, overcoming your fear of public speaking is essential. Which poses the questions: How do you get past this seemingly insurmountable obstacle? How do you bury that fear deep in your heart and not let it overwhelm your defenses? How do you survive such a ghastly ordeal?

1. It’s Not as Bad as It Seems The very first thing you need to understand is that it is not as bad as it seems. You are focusing on the bad things, the things that might happen or could happen that would make you seem foolish or unprepared, that would make your audience laugh in derision, rather than in good humor. Such fears are natural, but baseless. The audience is not there to laugh at you; they have no desire to pick apart your performance looking for absurdities. They have come to hear you speak. They believe you have valuable information to impart and they want to know what you have to say. They obviously place a great deal of value on your opinion and expertise; else, they would have found somewhere else to go.

2. Everyone Experiences a Fear of Public Speaking Everyone experiences a fear of public speaking, no matter how experienced a speaker they might be. This is important to understand – everyone feels the same fear, the same trepidation. Everyone gets the same butterflies in their stomach and experiences the same sweat-slicked palms; even those with years of experience under their belts still succumb to the fear of public speaking. So what does this tell you? It tells you two things: first, the fear you feel is natural and nothing of which to be ashamed. Second, it tells you that you are not alone and if you work through it, you can reap tremendous rewards.

3. You are the Expert – You were Chosen to Speak for a Reason Perhaps you have the most in-depth understanding of a particular product’s features. Perhaps you are responsible for developing and implementing new techniques with wide-ranging ramifications. Maybe you are the only person who understands your company’s new product/service and must explain how it works to potential investors or even to company sales reps. Regardless of the reason, you are the expert – it was no mere accident you were chosen to speak at this event. You have important, vital, unique information to impart, which brings enormous value to your audience. This is your chance to share your information, so that alone should help you resolve your fear for public speaking.

4. Understand the Value You Bring to the Table Once you understand the value you bring to the table, the rest of the process is very simple. While overcoming that fear of public speaking might seem impossible, you can use numerous techniques to help you move past it. For instance, meditation-style breathing techniques, used before you take the stage, will help slow your racing heart and stem the flood of adrenaline surging through your body.

Remember that the audience is likely not going to notice your sweating palms or your nervousness; in many ways, fear of public speaking is simply all in your mind. Having a positive mindset and the right outlook on the event will help you move past this fear. Remember, you are the expert here, take that to heart, and all else will fall into place and you can confidently deliver your engaging speech.

David Wilkins has put together a complementary 20 page report full of simple and effective ways to reduce your fear of public speaking, which will help you quickly deal with and solve any anxiety issues. To download it instantly visit: http://www.publicspeakingmentor.com/banishfearreport.html

Some people are stressed just with the thought of standing up and speaking in public. They avoid public speaking like a plague. It´s hard for them to have all eyes on them. Whether they work alone or with large numbers of people, they would have to speak in public if they want to accomplish certain tasks. Also, one cannot be a leader and achieve meaningful accomplishments if they themselves are afraid to speak in public.

One of the main things to remember in order to figure out a way on how to overcome fear of public speaking is that it does not have to be stressful. Understand what the cause of the stress is and where it is coming from. You would also have to remember the key principles. This will give you the confidence that you need when speaking in public.

So many aspects in life are stressful as they already are. Public speaking does not have to be stressful. If you can´t help but feel stressed with just the idea of speaking in public, then deal with the stress in the same way that you would deal with any of the stress in your life.

So many people have already learned the tips when it comes to speaking in front of people and they managed not to be stressed at all. Voices tremble and knees would shake – these are the most common signs of fear of public speaking.

If these are already happening to you, and you want to overcome your fear, the first thing you should do is to stop these from happening. It´s your body, clearly you can control it.

It does not make you abnormal if you are afraid to speak in public. A way for you on how to overcome fear of public speaking is to have the right plan of action, right understanding, and right guiding principles. It is not hard, in fact, you can do this overnight. You just have to set your approach on the right path when it comes to speaking in public.

Another thing one must remember as a way on how to overcome fear of public speaking is that he does not have to be brilliant nor perfect in order to succeed. The people who are afraid to speak in public watch the people who could and think that they should be as entertaining, smart, witty, polished, and calm as them.

That shouldn´t be the case. First of all, they should stop bringing themselves down. The main key is to just believe in themselves and to just do it. If you want to learn how to overcome your fear of public speaking, i recommend Martin’s Ng surviving speaking disasters guide. Learn how you can get rid of your public speaking phobia easily and be able to give public speeches with confidence.

If your stomach churns just at the thought of speaking in front of a group of people, you’re not alone. In fact, Americans rate public speaking as their number one fear – even ahead of death (hence the old joke that you would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy)!

Think about what’s going through your head right at that moment when you are getting ready to open your mouth, whether it’s at a staff meeting at work or in front of the local YMCA parents’ group. Yes, I admit that I hear voices in my head – and I bet you do, too.

Take a moment, close your eyes and really listen for that voice – what is it saying to you?

When I ask clients to share what that voice in their head is telling them right before they speak, they invariably come out with a whiny, annoying voice spewing negatives like “you’re going to make a fool of yourself” or “who do you think you are?”

That voice goes by many names. Creativity expert Julia Cameron calls it “The Censor.” I call it the “Joy-Sucker” because it sucks the joy out of your work and your life. The Joy-Sucker undermines your confidence and makes you less able to convey your knowledge and experience to your audience. In its worst manifestations, it may even cause you to forget your own name!

The Joy-Sucker may come from old beliefs about ourselves or perhaps a comment made by an unhelpful friend, teacher or former spouse.

Instead of allowing the Joy-Sucker to sap your confidence, I recommend replacing it with a positive affirmation or Mantra. Mantra is a term borrowed from meditation and yoga and means a word or phrase that you repeat to yourself to focus your mind and energy. Your mantra should be personally meaningful to you and should be a phrase that you can believe. You can use a song title (Aretha Franklin’s “RESPECT” comes to mind), a line from a poem or anything that makes you feel powerful and confident. “You go, girl” is one of my personal favorites (accompanied by a mental fist in the air).

Once you have created a mantra, try it out in real-life situations. When you are getting ready to speak, listen for the Joy-Sucker and replace it with your mantra.

Remember that the Joy-Sucker has had years of practice, so it’s okay to try several mantras before you find one that is powerful enough to drown it out.

You’ll know the mantra is working when you feel your anxiety decreasing and your confidence increasing (a little bit at a time). As you build your confidence, you’ll be able to tap into your knowledge and experience related to the topic at hand – and you’ll be on your way to becoming a more polished public speaker!

(I’d love to hear your success stories. Once you’ve developed and tried out your mantra, email me and let me know how it works for you.) Gilda Bonanno is a speaker, trainer and coach who helps entrepreneurs, small business owners and corporate professionals improve their communication and presentation skills. Get a FREE Report “6 Mistakes to Avoid in Public Speaking” when you subscribe to Gilda’s e-newsletter. http://www.gildabonanno.com

Public Speaking: 3 Tips to Remove Workplace Fears

Fears at work are countless: Public Speaking, fear of conflict, fear of small cubicles, and fear of speaking up. Why are the phobias at work are endless? Why is it that Public Speaking is still on the top of the phobia lists? Wikipedia quotes fear of public speaking as stage fright affecting as much as 75% of the population.

Most careers require an adequate ability to present which is vital to continued success. Could Fear of Public Speaking actually be the fear of rejection? Fear of being seen as weak? Fear of being put on the spot? Since this topic continues to resonate, here are some tips to overcome these fears and anxieties:

PREPARE:

Proper preparation exudes confidence. Always use bullet points for your presentations. Memorizing speeches can result in freezing on stage. Use a format instead (e.g. opening/3 main points/closing) and you will know where you are during all stages of the talk. Following the format in your own words will make you sound conversational and relaxed. See yourself as the Expert. Know more about the subject than expected (have some reserve power for after your talk).

PUT YOUR AUDIENCE FIRST:

Be genuinely interested in your audience. How will the purpose of your talk benefit your audience? What are their needs? What steps in their lives should they take which will help them? Is there a dramatic effect on the audience if they take make these changes in their lives? Did you research their interests before going on stage? Do you have intriguing facts about that particular audience to capture their attention up front? As an audience member, we enjoy Speakers who smile, tell memorable stories, are passionate, and honestly care about us.

PRACTICE:

Practice in front of a mock audience (perhaps co-workers if they have a similar need). See if the stories work. See if the audience is engaged. Be open to implementing their feedback. Practice without coaching is like not practicing at all. Think of fluent speakers who had great impact. Chances are they took the above approach to overcome their fears to convey conviction and confidence.

Trina Paulus once said, ‘How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.” Take the opportunities to prepare, put your audience first, and practice, and you, too, will become the envy of others! Chime in at meetings when you normally wouln’t. Challenge yourself to be the first participant to chime in on teleconferences. Have you taken the opportunity to speak in the community lately? Remembe that old quote: “You miss 100% of the shots not taken.” How can we become proficient if we’re not consistently practicing?

Kerrie Espuga is Founder and Managing Director of Corporate Trendsetters, a NY professional training consulting company. Her expertise includes Public Speaking, Team Building, and Sales/Management Training. Kerrie has extensive experience in Corporate America at Fortune 500 companies, including facilitating/training, selling, and coaching/managing in the Pharmaceutical industry. She’s an exciting innovative Facilitator, who enjoys keeping groups engaged to enhance the learning!

Kerrie Espuga, Managing Director Corporate Trendsetters Training Consulting http://highpowerpres.com/Test/gen-step1.php Kerrie is Founder of Corporate Trendsetters, a NY professional training firm. Her expertise includes training individuals in Public Speaking and Sales/Management. Kerrie’s proven track record includes 16 years facilitating/training, selling, and managing at Fortune 500 companies, primarily in the Pharmaceutical industry.

There is a lot of information on the internet today about eliminating your nervousness in public speaking. I suggest learning how to control it instead, allowing your nervousness to work for you and not against you which can take your delivery to new heights.

What I offer is not a tip or a trick but the most important thing you can do when you stand to speak. It is something physical.

1. it is something we don’t do;

2. it is something we don’t know to do; and,

3. it is something we don’t know how to do (properly).

Now that I have you totally confused, bear with me. Once I tell what ‘it’ is, you might say rubbish; although, for those of you who have done presentations in the past, you possibly remember running out of ‘it’ while speaking!

I am talking about breathing, specifically breathing with the support of your diaphragm, a muscular partition below your rib cage which separates your chest from your abdomen. 99% of the population does not breathe with this support which is why we are often called lazy or shallow breathers. It is a medical fact.

There is one group of people in the world, however, who must breathe with this support — opera singers. That is why they are often called professional breathers.

There is another group of individuals, though, who also breathe with this support and they are called newborns. Every infant breathes with the support of the diaphragm, but as the child develops he/she tends to stop this practice and reverts to using only the upper portion of the chest to breathe.

All mammals have a diaphragm. All mammals breathe with the support of the diaphragm. It is only the most intelligent of the mammals who do not make use of this extraordinary muscle. If you do not believe me, go stand in front of a mirror and take a deep breath. Did you suck in your gut, lift up your shoulders and throw out your chest? If so, then you just did it wrong.

When I started my business back in 1989, I joined the local chamber of commerce. At a new member’s orientation, we had to stand and introduce ourselves. There had to be 150 people in that room and I knew no one. While sitting there waiting for my turn, it suddenly dawned on me that my introduction was my business. As one who teaches people how to improve the sound of the speaking voice, I realized that if I blew that introduction, I could kiss my business goodbye, at which point I began to sweat. My heart was beating with such fervor that I could feel it in my cheeks. Finally it was my turn. I stood; I took a breath; and, I proceeded to say who I was and what I did. I sounded calm, collected, in control. They had no idea that I was ‘dying a thousand deaths.’ And, I knew it worked because when I sat down, a gentlemen in the back said, “That’s the Voice Lady!”

[Incidentally, if you are a woman, do you find your shoulders, neck, upper back, and/or jaw sore by the end of the day? I do not. I have plenty of stress in my life but because I breathe properly, I never experience tension in those areas. Trust me -- it's all in the breathing!]

Shallow breathing results in oxygen starvation which means we are not eliminating enough of the carbon dioxide in our bodies, thereby a toxic buildup occurs. And, while this toxic buildup has many adverse effects, for the purposes of public speaking, it actually increases our tension, our stress. Think of the last time you gave a speech or a presentation. Did the pitch of your voice go up? Did you find yourself breathless? Did you start speaking faster and faster? These are all symptoms of nervousness exacerbated by poor breathing habits. So ask yourself this question.

Would you like to remain part of the 99%? Or, would you like to become part of that 1% who allow their breathing to control their nervousness as well as experiencing a host of other benefits that have nothing to do with the voice or presentation skills.

Take control of your nervousness and let it work for you, not against you! The Voice Lady Nancy DanielsVoicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement and public speaking. Click here to watch Nancy describe The 5 Characteristics of Dynamic Public Speaking in her 8-minute video offers private, corporate and group sessions in voice and presentation skills as well as

If the idea of standing up in front of an audience and giving a speech (even a short speech) scares you to death, you’re not alone. In fact, most surveys will tell you that people are more comfortable with the idea of dying than they are about speaking in public.

However, there are plenty of things you can do to minimize the nervous feelings you have prior to giving an acceptance speech. Here are six sure-fire ways to reduce your anxiety and boost your confidence.

1. Put it on paper. Psychologists believe that writing your fears down on a piece of paper can be an empowering experience. If you’re nervous about speaking in front of a group, write it down, look at it, think about it, and then crumple it up and toss it in the trashcan.

2. Visit the venue. One of the best ways to calm your nerves and gain a feeling of confidence is to visit the room in which you’re going to give your speech beforehand and get comfortable being “on stage.” This is especially true if you’re presenting somewhere for the first time like a hotel meeting room or a banquet hall.

I recommend that you actually stand where you’ll be giving the speech and picture the audience sitting in front of you. Then get a feel for the lighting, the podium, the size and layout of the dais (stage), etc. This will go a long way to embolden you.

3. Be prepared. It is paramount that you know your speech like the back of your hand. You don’t necessarily have to memorize it (in fact, that’s not wise), however, you need to be familiar with the words you want to say.

Motivational speaking legend Zig Ziglar, after 40 years in the speaking business, once told a journalist that he prepared four hours for a 25-minute radio interview knowing full well that he was not going to be asked anything he had never heard before. Nothing goes further in soothing public speaking jitters like knowing exactly what you want to say and how you want to say it.

Be sure that you’re so comfortable with the first line of your speech that it just rolls off your tongue without even having to think.

4. Hold your breath. Here’s a breathing exercise you can do just prior to giving your acceptance speech that will help calm your nerves. Take a deep breath through your nose and hold it for 5 seconds. Then let your breath out of your mouth in short, controlled (quiet) spurts until all the air is out of your lungs.

To do it right, it should take about 10-15 “mini-exhales” to get all the air out. Then repeat this two more times. You’ll be amazed how relaxed it makes you feel.

5. Clench your fists. Another exercise similar to #4 above is to clench your fists several times right before you get up to speak. Here’s how you do it.

Clench both fists as tightly as you can, hold it for 10 seconds and then let go. Wait five seconds and than repeat this exercise two more times.

This simple technique has the power to release muscle tension and thereby help you relax. Plus, it’s something you can do sitting around the table waiting for your name to be announced.

6. Watch what you eat. Believe it or not, the foods you eat can affect the outcome of your speech starting with orange juice. (It’s not just for breakfast anymore.) The vitamin C found in orange juice has been shown to lower stress hormones in less than 15 minutes.

Plus, foods that contain high amounts of tryptophan like turkey, nuts and cheese contain an amino acid that helps people feel less anxious. If nature’s willing to give you a hand, grab hold of it.

Also, try to avoid caffeinated beverages because they can make you even more jumpy than the natural adrenaline rush you get from public speaking.

No matter what happens up at the podium, keep in mind that your audience cannot tell how nervous you are on the insides. In public speaking seminars when people have a chance to see themselves on video giving a speech, many are surprised to see that they do not appear nearly as nervous as they felt.

And unless you give your audience a reason to think otherwise, they will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume the best about you.

So, try out these nerve-reducing ideas and rise up to your audience’s hopeful expectations. Learn how to write an acceptance speech in less than 60 minutes and discover the secret to confidently delivering your speech from a St. Louis Public Speaking Training expert.

They say that man’s greatest fear is public speaking and that his second greatest fear is dying. According to Jerry Seinfield that means, “that most people at a funeral would rather be in the coffin than give the eulogy!”

To my knowledge no one has died from public speaking. Your hands may sweat, your voice may quiver, your heart may be pounding in your cheeks, and, you may have vomited before going on stage; but rest assured, public speaking will not kill you!

Are your fears of standing in front of an audience justified? If you’re not prepared, then you have every reason to be ‘scared to death.’

Part of the fear of addressing an audience is the unknown. For many of us that is what is so thrilling about public speaking; for most, however, that is what is so unsettling. Admittedly, you do not know what will happen as you stand at the lectern which is why your preparation is critical to your success.

Of the thousands of people with whom I’ve worked, it never ceases to amaze me how many come to their class, their session, or their workshop unprepared. A guarantee for failure on the podium or at the head of the boardroom table is not knowing your material.

What that means is to practice your speech or your presentation out loud many times. Reading over your material to yourself is not practice because the flow of your words, while understandable in written form, may not sound as good out loud. You must practice just like the musician, the actor, the athlete, or the presidential candidate.

In regards to public speaking, this is called a rehearsal. Too many people look to squeeze in a few minutes to go over their script and I disagree. You should set aside time each day to practice and stick to your schedule. No matter how tight your agenda, do not cancel your rehearsal. Treat it just as importantly as you would treat a meeting with your boss or a potential client because it is. Your success in that speech or that presentation speaks volumes about you and your abilities. One of your most important goals in public speaking is to sell yourself as an expert in your topic or your field. And that can only happen with practice.

If you have the ability to video-record yourself, by all means do so. In playing it back, analyze what you like about your delivery and what you don’t like. What needs work? Video-recording is one of the best tools that I use in training others. By watching yourself, it will be easier to improve that which needs work.

That does not mean that you must record yourself each time you practice; but, it also doesn’t mean waiting until the last moment either. How you look and sound to others is something you cannot appreciate until you see yourself on video and is similar to hearing your voice on your voicemail, generally not a pleasant experience! It also would be a good idea to have someone listen to you during a couple of those rehearsals if at all possible.

While you cannot know exactly what will happen during your speech or presentation, being prepared is the best defense for the unexpected and is part of every successful delivery.

My advice? Practice; practice; and more practice. The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate, and group training in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It! the only video training course on voice improvement. For more information go to: http://www.voicedynamic.com/specialaccess1.htm

Does your voice ‘shake, rattle and roll’ when you stand to introduce yourself or address an audience at the lectern or the boardroom table? When I started my voice improvement business back in 1989, I joined the local chamber of commerce and attended a new members’ orientation. The room was large; there were about 150 attendees; and, the new members had to stand and introduce themselves.

At first I wasn’t concerned until it suddenly dawned on me that that personal introduction was my business. I realized that if I blew my intro I could kiss Voice Dynamic goodbye at which point I began to sweat. My heart was beating so loudly that I could feel it pounding in my cheeks and I was sure the gentleman on the other side of the table could hear it beating as well. I always experience nervousness in public speaking – which is a good thing – but never to this degree.

Finally, it was my turn. I stood; I took a breath; and I proceeded to introduce myself. I sounded calm, collected, confident. They had no idea that I was dying a thousands deaths!
 
What did I do that most people don’t? I took a breath. Not a huge breath – not a shallow breath – just a deep breath, a breath that went all the way down to my diaphragm. By breathing in this manner, I was totally relaxed from the waist up. (Yes, my knees were shaking but there was a tablecloth to hide that condition!)

As soon as I finished, a man in the back of the room shouted, “That’s The Voice Lady” and so began my career. I knew then that breathing with the support of the diaphragm was what allowed me to control my nervousness and not the other way around. And, it has stood me in good ground ever since.

There are many symptoms of nervousness in public speaking which unfortunately affect the voice and are a dead giveaway that the speaker is not in control: quivering voice; high-pitched tone; and 100 mph in a 65 mph speed zone.

All of these characteristics will go away if you can control your nervousness and allow it to work for you, not against you. I want you nervous. Nervousness is wonderful. Having no control over it, however, is not. My heart goes out to that speaker whose voice quivers because I understand what they are going through.

If you learn to breathe with support and allow your chest cavity to power your voice, you will then be able to control not only your nervousness but your speed as well. The quiver will be gone and your pitch will stay within range.

[Incidentally, all mammals breathe with the support of the diaphragm and as newborns we did as well; but, sometime during our childhood development, we stop that practice and revert to shallow or lazy breathing - it's a medical fact!]

Imagine, standing at the lectern or at the business lunch or at the head of the boardroom table and never letting them ‘hear’ you sweat.

The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group session in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. For more information visit: http://www.voicedynamic.com/specialaccessvoice.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_J_Roberts

It is often observed that many people’s top ranking fear is not death but having to speak in public. The joke is that these people would rather be lying in the casket at the funeral than giving the eulogy. Public speaking for people who suffer from panic attacks or general anxiety often becomes a major source of worry weeks or even months before the speaking event is to occur.

These speaking engagements do not necessarily have to be the traditional “on a podium” events but can be as simple as an office meeting where the individual is expected to express an opinion or give verbal feedback. The fear of public speaking and panic attacks in this case centers on having an attack while speaking. The individual fears being incapacitated by the anxiety and hence unable to complete what he or she is saying. The person imagines fleeing the spotlight and having to make all kinds of excuses later for their undignified departure out the office window….

This differs slightly from the majority of people who fear public speaking because their fear tends to revolve around going blank while speaking or feeling uncomfortable under the spotlight of their peers. The jitters or nerves of speaking in public are of course a problem for this group as well, but they are unfamiliar with that debilitating threat which is the panic attack, as they most likely have not experienced one before.

So how should a person with an anxiety issue tackle public speaking?

Stage one is accepting that all these bizarre and quite frankly unnerving sensations are not going to go away overnight. In fact, you are not even going to concern yourself with getting rid of them for your next talk. When they arrive during a speech/meeting, you are going to approach them in a new manner. What we need to do is build your confidence back to where it used to be before any of these sensations ever occurred. This time you will approach it in a unique, empowering manner, allowing you to feel your confidence again. It is said that most of the top speakers are riddled with anxiety before speaking, but they somehow use this nervousness to enhance their speech. I am going to show you exactly how to do this, although I know that right now if you suffer from public speaking and panic attacks you may find it difficult to believe you can ever overcome it.

My first point is this and it is important. The average healthy person can experience an extreme array of anxiety and very uncomfortable sensations while giving a speech and is in no danger of ever losing control, or even appearing slightly anxious to the audience. No matter how tough it gets, you will always finish your piece, even if at the outset it feels very uncomfortable to go on. You will not become incapacitated in any way.

The real breakthrough for if you suffer from public speaking and panic attacks happens when you fully believe that you are not in danger and that the sensations will pass.

“I realize you (the anxiety) hold no threat over me.”

What keeps a panic attack coming again and again is the fear of the fear-the fear that the next one will really knock your socks off and you feel you were lucky to have made it past the last one unscathed. As they were so unnerving and scary, it is your confidence that has been damaged by previous anxiety episodes. Once you fully understand you are not under any threat, then you can have a new response to the anxiety as it arises while speaking.

Defeating public speaking and panic attacks…

There is always a turning point when a person moves from general anxiety into a panic attack, and that happens with public speaking when you think to yourself:

“I won’t be able to handle this in front of these people.”

That split second of self-doubt leads to a rush of adrenaline, and the extreme anxiety arrives in a wave like format. If, however, when you feel the initial anxiety and you react with confidence that this is not a threat to you, you will move out of the anxiety rapidly. Using this new approach is a powerful ally because it means it is okay to feel scared and feel the anxiety when speaking-that is fine; you are going to feel it and move with and through the sensations in your body and out the other side. Because he or she is feeling very anxious, often before the talk has begun, that person may feel they have already let themselves down. Now, you can relax on that point. It is perfectly natural to feel the anxiety. Take for example the worst of the sensations you have ever experienced in this situation-be it general unease to loss of breath. You will have an initial automatic reaction that says:

“Danger-I’m going to have an episode of anxiety here and I really can’t afford that to happen.”

At this point most people react to that idea and confirm it must be true because of all of the unusual feelings they are experiencing. This is where your thinking can lead you down a train of thought that creates a cycle of anxiety that produces a negative impact on your overall presenting skills.

So let that initial “oh dear, not now” thought pass by, and follow it up immediately with the attitude of:

“There you are-I’ve been wondering when you would arrive. I’ve been expecting you to show up-by the way, I am not in the least threatened by any of the strange sensations you are creating-I am completely safe here.”

The key to controlling your fear of public speaking and panic attacks is that instead of pushing the emotional energy and excitement down into your stomach, you are moving out through it. Your body is in a slightly excited state, exactly as it should be while giving a speech, so release that energy in your self-expression. Push it out through your presentation not down into your stomach. You push it out by expressing yourself more forcefully. In this way you turn the anxiety to your advantage by using it to deliver a speech where you come across more alive, energetic and in the present moment. When you notice the anxiety drop as it does when you willingly move into it. Fire a quick thought off when you get a momentary break (as I am sure you have between pieces), asking it for “more.” You want more of its intense feelings as you are interested in them and are absolutely not threatened by them.

It seems like a lot of things to be thinking about while talking to a group of people, but it is not really. You’d be amazed how many different non-related thoughts you can have while speaking. This approach is about adopting a new attitude of confidence to what you might have deemed a serious threat up until now. This tactic will truly help you with fear of public speaking and panic attacks you have associated with them.

If your predominant fear of the speaking engagement is driven by a feeling of being trapped, then I would suggest factoring in some mental releases that can be prepared before the event. For example, some meetings/speeches allow for you to turn the attention back to the room to get feedback etc. from the group.

If possible, you might want to prepare such opportunities in your own mind before the engagements. This is not to say you have to ever use them, but people in this situation often remark that just having small opportunities where attention can be diverted for the briefest of moments can make the task seem less daunting. It my even be something as simple as having people introduce themselves or opening the floor to questions. I realize these diversions are not always possible and depend on the situation, but anything you can factor in that makes you feel less trapped or under the spotlight is worth the effort and can help alleviate fear of public speaking and panic attacks. Darryl Paul is the author of this article and runs the blog http://panicaway-now.blogspot.com/

The thought of public speaking is something that is enough to make anyone get nervous. It is also called stage fright or speech anxiety – the anxiousness and fear that accompanies the negative thoughts one tends to have when faced with the prospect of speaking in public or in front of a large group of people.

Everybody can fall victim to speech anxiety: even celebrities and prominent people who are regularly under the spotlight sometimes still have the “butterflies in the stomach,” the sweaty palms, and the shaking knees that accompany the fear of public speaking. The possible causes of speech anxiety are numerous.

One could be previous failure in delivering a speech. The fear of repeated failure may cause an individual to develop an extreme fear to try again. On the other hand, inexperience, or never having given a public speech, results to an almost similar fear. Another common cause is shyness. The feeling of having all eyes focused on you at a particular time can cause much anxiety for a shy person who do not normally speak too much even in front of small groups. Some people just hate being the center of attention and the feeling of conspicuousness when speaking in public increases the level of anxiety and embarrassment one feels.

Another, and easier to resolve, cause of speech anxiety is lack of preparation. Without practice, the level of discomfort in speaking words that you don’t really know by heart is considerably larger. If you are not intimately acquainted with the content of your speech, if the words coming out of your mouth are not things that you actually have strong feelings for, chances are you will have the fear of being “found out.” The chances of being provoked into discussions you think you cannot have a strong opinion about and can defend increase the level of anxiety of many public speakers.

One of the first steps in overcoming speech anxiety is to identify your personal reasons on why you fear it so. Once you are aware of the cause, you can then work on finding solutions to your concerns. Whether you fear speaking in front of thousands or even in front of one other person, there are ways to manage your fear and improve your performance. From something as simple as practicing your spiels, making use of visualizations, or self-motivation to something like searching for professional help by taking up a skills training course, speech anxiety is not without “cure.”

These actions will help you develop strategies to overcome your fears or, if not, at least handle it in such a way that your anxiety will not be evident to your audience. There are several self-help books available that discuss tips and strategies to be better communicators.

Speech anxiety is a behavioral condition that is common to all humans. Different personalities may experience different levels of such an anxiety but the good news is that it can be overcome. With proper training and practice, anybody has the potential to be an excellent speaker. Bobby Dyland is a expert on anxiety and panic attacks who recently developed a free eCourse that lists a step by step process for understanding, controlling and finally beating anxiety.

If you are interested in learning more about his “Crushing Anxiety and Reclaiming your Life” eCourse and beating panic attacks once and for all, please go here: http://www.crushanxiety.com

Don’t let these common fears hold you back.

A line from Caroline Casey’s speech at the Green Festival intrigued me. She said, “Our security used to be in laying low. Now, our security lies in showing up.” As independent professionals, it’s more important than ever to take on the challenge and speak up for our businesses. Sure, there can be fear in giving a presentation; there’s a lot of judgment in the world. But, what would it mean to your bottom line if you gave a talk that was focused, relevant and naturally persuasive? For our businesses to flourish, it’s time to get past any reluctance and dive in. Put together a talk for a local group or consider creating an on-line seminar. Do something that stretches you.

Some people I’ve coached have had very little fear when presenting a power-point slide show for their company. But now, when it comes to talking about themselves and their businesses, the vulnerability factor kicks in. Some people have grown so accustomed to others speaking for them; the thought of standing up and using their own voice is too intimidating. Some people have been criticized so severely that they’ll go to any length to avoid giving a speech. I’ve seen people spend thousands of dollars on advertising, using it as the only component of their marketing plan. What a waste… not only of dollars, but of precious life force. When we understand where the fear comes from and work with it in a positive way, we’ll have more business than we know what to do with. Our self-confidence will be a shining light for others. Some of the most brilliant public speakers I’ve seen and coached have had the worst stage fright. They simply made a decision to do what it takes to break free of it.

So, what does it take to show up and get results?

1) A belief in your product or service so strong that it overrides any anxiety.

2) A belief that you are the perfect person to be presenting these particular ideas and suggestions.

3) A true desire to help and empower someone else.

4) A well-thought out presentation that influences your target audience to take action

When you tap into these four, you won’t be able to hold yourself back. Look for the most appropriate opportunities to communicate your message with as many people as possible. One hour in front of a large audience is ripe with possibilities. (Beware; it can have serious negative effects if done too soon without proper preparation) Any major city has hundreds of networking venues looking for speakers. A simple google search will help you find them. Watch for these common mistakes that many speakers make and get help where you need it.

1) Lack of clear, organized structure

2) Poor delivery

3) Little or no emotional or intellectual connection

4) A weak call to action

When we step into a bigger domain, our hidden issues have a way of showing up with us. All parts of us become more visible. What made us successful at one point in our lives is usually the thing that’s holding us back from our next step. Take a look. There’s a lot of potential for personal growth as well as the growth of your business. When you’re ready for a significant leap, I invite you to consider creating a dynamic speech or hosting a lively workshop.

Pamela Ziemann has been coaching people with natural, authentic presentations since 1997. Build your self-confidence by signing up for her free e-course “Answering Tough Questions in the Moment” at http://www.OnlineSpeakingSchool.com You’ll receive 6 daily lessons, plus weekly tips to help you say what you want anytime, anywhere, with anyone.

We all know that being in the public eye is not only a huge part of running a business but also a key aspect to being taken seriously as a professional in Network Marketing, Sales, Corporate Relations, etc. Unfortunately, the fear of public speaking can make or break our success in life.

Conquering the FEAR that most people experience when they speak in front of others is most easily understood in four steps that just happen to coincide with the actual letters in the word itself.

F – Fight/Flight E – Excitement A – Adrenaline Rush R – Rehearse

F – Fight/Flight A person’s initial response to an unfamiliar situation is either fight or flight. If you choose flight, then you are basically saying, “I’m out of here”. You run from being pulled out of your comfort zone and refuse the idea of change. People that seek success and aren’t afraid of confronting their fears usually make the other choice…FIGHT! They recognize that they are outside of their comfort zone and are willing to face those fears head on. Yes, it is very scary but don’t let fear take control by running away from your dreams!

E – Excitement When you make the decision to walk in front of an audience and open your heart up to a bunch of strangers, you are excited and eager to forge forward on your journey. The realization of being personally responsible for the initiation of your own dream and acting on that dream is so exciting that it is overwhelming for the human body. So, what happens next?

A – Adrenaline Rush You made the choice to fight your fear of public speaking, you’re excited about this choice and now your adrenaline begins to rush throughout your entire body. Your knees begin to knock, your hands shake, your skin becomes clammy and worst of all…YOU CAN’T BREATHE! An adrenaline rush will cause you to second guess your choice of fight, but don’t give into those negative emotions.

R- Rehearse The last and most important step in conquering your fear of public speaking is to rehearse. You must do it over and over and over again until you are comfortable in your new environment, you deliver an outstanding presentation, and you embrace your audience like you’ve known them for years. Rehearsal is the step that will determine the quality of your public speaking.

Motivating champions worldwide! John Di Lemme

For updates on live events, teleclasses and more

go to >>>>>> http://john-dilemme.com

John is an International Motivational Speaker, Author and Business Coach who, through his live-seminars, training programs, live teleclasses, and websites has made a reality for thousands of people worldwide.

John wants to give you a FREE copy of his e-book

“177 Motivational Quotes to Live the Championship Life”

Go here now >>>> www.motive8.me

I have just come across a couple of posts on the web that I think you will like to do with (i) public speaking fear and (ii) what to do when your presentation goes wrong.

The first is from Nick Morgan.

In Nick’s recent post he discusses public speaking fear , anxiety etc. In it he talks about the reasons that a persons fear of public speaking may have developed. But, more importantly he moves on to talk about what can be done to beat these nerves.

He identifies 3 basic categories you can work on;-

First, you can work on the speech itself

Second, you can work on your physical symptoms

Finally, you can work on your mind

You can find the details here:-

http://publicwords.typepad.com/nickmorgan/2010/06/does-public-speaking-terrify-you-heres-what-to-do-about-it.html

The next is by Thomas Walligum.

In Steve Jobs recent presentation to launch the next version of the iphone he ran into trouble with his presentation. Steve is recognized as one of the best presenters. By observing what he does we can all learn something that we can use in our nest presentation.

In this article Thomas outlines the situation and gives us the “takeaways” that we can use when the unexpected happens with  in our presentation. The article starts as follows:

Trouble can sneak up on the best presenters—just ask Steve Jobs about his Wi-Fi connection at Monday’s iPhone 4 announcement. But you can use strategies to mitigate PPT meltdowns and awkward silences, says presentation expert and The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs author Carmine Gallo. Here are his expert tips. Read the rest by clicking here:

http://www.cio.com/article/596271/How_Steve_Jobs_Beats_Presentation_Panic?page=1&taxonomyId=3000

Let me know what you think of these posts and if you have any of your own tips.

Preparation: The Key to Public Speaking Success for Introverts*

The year was 2000. It was time to give the annual report to the Board and Suzanne, the VP of Finance, was sweating buckets. The rolls of nausea began before she moved up to the podium. With clammy hands and short breaths, she went through her Power Points, breathing a sigh of relief when the 20 minutes were up. Fast forward, seven years later. A new company and a new board waited. As the A.V. team adjusted her mike she came from behind the lectern and watched calmly, with a slight smile as the audience members filed in. The paralysis of years ago had disappeared. Under protest, Suzanne had enrolled in a Toastmasters group at her company and attended it consistently for 3 years. She took these learned skills and confidence into her work, seized every opportunity to speak in public and overcame what might have become a huge career derailer.

Warren Buffet said that public speaking can be our greatest asset or our worst liability.1 Do you experience what Suzanne felt in her earlier days or are you able to find your “voice” and give presentations with ease and confidence? Perhaps you are somewhere in between? We all have heard the statistics about people fearing public speaking more than death. Even the act of getting up and introducing themselves makes introverts in my classes anxious. Their voices and hands shake the first few times they are asked to report out to the group. However, as Warren Buffet said, presenting your ideas coherently in all kinds of situations moves your career forward. Being introverted does not mean you can’t also be a phenomenal speaker. Just like an actor goes into character in some of earlier examples in this book, you can perform brilliantly in the role. You need to educate, inform and persuade people as a leader in your organization or profession. You also need to challenge individuals to talk to you and each other. Setting the stage, by laying out a business case or problem to be solved requires you to deliver a command performance.

On some level, most people know the steps they need to take to overcome their fear of public speaking. A combination of training and, like the Nike commercial slogan “Just Do It!” is part of the formula for success. As the “Sales Guy”, Richard Elmes says, “The presentation you give tomorrow will be that much better because of the speech you delivered today.” Life is too short to be paralyzed by this fear. People need to hear what you have to say. Why rob them of that opportunity?

When I first started as a corporate trainer I spent days and days preparing for one presentation. I studied the material, tried to anticipate every question and entered the room ready to be “the expert”. Of course, I soon realized that though I felt well versed in the material, I could never be totally aware of every fact and every question that might arise. The company had hired a coach to work with our team on presentation skills. He saw my tenseness that day and before the program walked up to the lectern and said, gently, “Jennifer”, he said, “You know this material. Now enjoy the experience and relax.” His words have stuck with me over the years. The synergy of preparing the material and even more importantly, your attitude, is a winning combination for presentation success. So what are three key steps in preparing to be a more confident and competent speaker? 1) Know Your Purpose 2) Tell Stories and 3) No More PowerPoint Karaoke.

1. Know Your Purpose

You should know the purpose of your program. Is it to inform, persuade, educate or motivate? Do you know what you want people to leave with? Why should they care about what you have to say? What are the three big points you want to make? Focus in depth on these points and use lots of examples, not on numerous points that overload your audience. What do you want them to remember? This will be the basis of your talk. Your preference for introspection as an introvert will allow you to reflect on this and think it through before putting “pen to paper.” Being prepared gives you the confidence to get up there and be with your audience. Many introverted professionals I know have said that people do not believe them when they say they are introverts because they look so at ease on the stage. It is the preparation that allows them to relax into the delivery.

2. Tell Me a Story

A few years ago, I heard Montel Williams deliver a keynote speech to a room full of administrative professionals. He told a story about promoting his secretary to president of one of his companies and introduced this woman to the crowd. It was a moving moment and many of the people in the audience were visibly touched by his showcasing a living, breathing role model. The power is in example. How many times have you heard a speaker, whether it is a motivational speaker or your CEO, engage a group by sharing a story? How about a leader made a point by sharing a personal experience? The use of stories to make a point is a skill you can master.

The good news is that you can prepare and rehearse stories to bring out points a lot more powerfully than through making a case with bullet points on a slide. This can be done to motivate a team on a project that is lagging as equally as it can be used to influence customers to purchase your product. Today, stories are the key to a successful presentation.

Annette Simmons, a storytelling expert, says, “The human presence in communication is frequently elbowed out by criteria designed to make communication clear, bite sized and attention grabbing, but which instead oversimplifies, truncates and irritates. These “sub goals” often obscure the real goal: human connection. Communication can’t feel genuine without the distinctive personality of a human being to provide context. You need to show up when you communicate. The real you, not the polished, idealized you. The missing ingredient in most failed communication is humanity. This is an easy fix. In order to blend humanity into every communication you send, all you have to do is tell more stories and bingo – you just showed up. Your communication has a human presence. “2

We are not all natural born storytellers (coming from someone who forgets the punch line of most jokes!) but you can learn to tell great stories. There are sources of stories all around us, the media, books, movies, television, and etcetera. I think the most powerful stories however, come from our own experience. This is true especially when we reveal our flaws. It is then that we connect with the audience.

I remember an experience several years ago when our family went whitewater rafting. My spouse, Bill, flipped out of the raft and because I never really listened to our trusted, ponytailed guide before the trip, I practically strangled Bill in the process of “rescuing” him. I often use that story (with more graphic details of course), to make a point about the importance of listening. It certainly wasn’t funny at the time but in retrospect, with time to reflect and weave stories like that in, I can get some laughs and make a point at the same time. You can do the same.

Follow a format that works. For instance, what is the point you want to make? What was going on in the scene? What were the smells, the sights and the sounds? You can help the listener be there with you. I am so committed to tell stories in my work now that I keep a small notebook with me and jot down memories and observations. Just open your eyes and you will find stories waiting to be told.

3. No More Powerpoint Karaoke Though PowerPoint is a great tool it has become overused and over-relied on by many of us. Too many bullet points on a slide, reading the slide out loud when the audience can do it themselves and not promoting audience engagement are some negative impacts of PowerPoint. Kevin Smith, a Marketing Manager at Dell Canada put it well. “The audience showed up to hear the expert (that’s you) talk about a solution to a problem that s causing them pain, not to hear you perform “powerpoint karaoke” by reading PowerPoint off of the slides.

Instead, consider using photos, a single question, key words and even audio to make your points. Cliff Atkinson on his website, http://www.beyondbulletpoints.com, has some great examples of how to construct these types of presentations. I had a Benefits Specialist resist this approach when I suggested it to her. I advised her to suggest her audience take notes on an outlined handout and make the material available on line. You are better off providing the three key points in your presentation on your slides. By writing down the points important to them, retention will be greater and they can get more details in their follow up. I think she is kidding herself if she thinks people are retaining the myriad of benefits details she is providing. It takes a little getting used to but your audiences will appreciate it and gain more from your program. So spend some time on the front end, thinking about your purpose, preparing stories and editing your slides. With some practice, you will, like Suzanne, learn to embrace the experience of speaking to groups and your fear will melt away.

1. Buffet and Gates Go Back To School, PBS Home Video Net Foundation for Television, 2006.

2. Annette Simmons, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, (AMACOM 2007), 4.

* Excerpt from The Introverted Leader: Building On Your Quiet Strength available at Amazon for 30% off http://tinyurl.com/55f3y6

Check out Jennifer’s CD, No More PowerPoint Karaoke: Mastering Public Speaking for Introverts, available at http://www.aboutyouinc.com, and watch for her new book, The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength (Berrett Koehler Publishers), due out in June 2009. Dr. Jennifer B. Kahnweiler is a “workplace guru” who helps leaders and aspiring leaders bring out their best. She has a special expertise in helping people to strengthen the people skills necessary for workplace success.

Everyone at some point in their life will have to confront some challenges. For some people it is the fear of public speaking. It is a fear that effects so many people from young to old. The fear of public speaking is directly related to the fear of failure or the fear of being in a room full of people. Overcoming these fears may seem difficult while in the moment, but the best way of dealing with your fears is to face them directly.

Fear is a deterrent that can hold you hostage to keep you from realizing your dreams. The presence of fear itself can serve as a self destructive force that can reduce confidence in several of your everyday functions. That truth has been told so many times by the cliché “there’s nothing to fear but fear itself”. Although it may sound like just some sort of pep talk, these words are absolutely true. As a matter of fact, I am going to share with you a personal experience I had while attempting to conquer my fears of public speaking.

Until my first public speaking assignment in the fourth grade, I never knew that I had a fear of speaking in public. I was quite social at that age and I was also popular, but the thought of getting in front of the whole classroom gave me more than just butterflies. To make matters worse, I was the first one called to give my presentation to the classroom. Being that I did not have a choice, I was forced to face my fears.

The presentation seem like it took forever for me to finish. I felt like it was a never ending bad dream, but at the end of the day, I received the highest marks in the class. The fact is even the kids that were not nervous, did not do well because they were experiencing something new. The only way to overcome the fear of anything for me is practice. It is easy to fear the unknown, but until you face your fears, you will never know what it is that you actually fear.

It can be hard or even seem impossible for someone trying to overcome their fears on their own, but it doesn’t have to be. Everyone needs an inspirational friend to confide in to release the uncomfortable self doubt that fear can create. I believe that fear is just a lazy mind that needs encouragement, so I try to surround myself with motivational positive individuals. If your surroundings prevent you from finding that inspiration, you can also wrap your thoughts around a good book. I have found some great inspiration from reading the short inspirational thoughts from The Eby Way by Gary Eby.

Overcoming the fear of public speaking was a one of my greatest triumphs. The fact that I was forced to face my fears gave me an unfair advantage over someone else that has to go it alone. My advice to anyone trying to face the fear of public speaking or any other fears is to remember that many more people before you had those same fears. If they can overcome those fears to become a great success, you can also. You must also remember that you really don’t have to face your fears yourself. If you take the time to feed your mind with positive thoughts, you will be able to conquer any challenges that life can offer. Marc Marseille is ambitious thriving entrepreneur who believes that wealth and happiness is created by helping others succeed. For more about overcoming adversity you can visit The Eby Challenge.

Panic attacks used to stop me in my tracks. When it came to public speaking, I just froze up. When you suffer from anxiety and have panic attacks, it can be an overwhelming experience. I don’t know about you, but if I have to speak in public, I’m starting to worry and panic weeks before the event even takes place. It’s a frustrating experience.

Public speaking is a very common fear. When you’re prone to panic attacks, public speaking can really push your anxiety buttons.

What exactly triggers panic attacks when speaking in public?

I know I used to turn red just standing up in a classroom and having to speak. Speaking in front of a group turned me bright red, and my heart would be racing, I just wish I knew how to stop panic attacks back then. What about office meetings? Do they make you uncomfortable also? If you’re put on the spot and have to express an opinion, do you have a panic attack? I know that it was extremely stressful, and while I knew what I wanted to say, and actually spoke, I was so overwhelmed inside, it was horrible. My pulse would be racing, I’d feel this throbbing in my head, my face would turn bright red, and my breathing would get more rapid. Let’s face it; sometimes it was really difficult to get the words out. I was capable of offering information, but the fact that I was having a panic attack made it feel near impossible. Now I know how to keep panic away, and you can too with a panic away program. You’ll be able to overcome panic attacks and finally feel comfortable with public speaking.

What exactly are people afraid of during panic attacks during public speaking?

Overcoming panic attacks means peace of mind. When you’re afraid of having a panic attach, you freeze up and are afraid you won’t be able to speak or are afraid the words won’t come out properly. This is more than jitters; this is an incredibly uncomfortable feeling when placed in front of other people. It’s a very threatening feeling inside, not your typical nerves. Unless you’ve experienced a panic attack, they can be difficult to express the fear and panic that goes along with them.

What should you do if you experience a panic attack?

Anxiety attacks often feel worse then they actually are. While they may overwhelm you, there’s isn’t an actual danger to you. This is an internal thing, and you can control the situation. Listen, a really great tip when it comes to public speaking is trying to remember it’s about the message you’re trying to convey, not about you. Take the focus off of yourself, and realize the information your expressing is good information.

So many people have a fear of public speaking, but when you mix in anxiety attacks, it can be frustrating. The first thing I’d recommend to push panic away, is to look into a panic away program.

Just because you’ve had anxiety attacks in the past, doesn’t mean you’ll have them for life. There is help, and there are ways to overcome your panic attacks. If you are ready to learn more about anxiety and panic attack treatments go on and check out the complete list of Natural Cures for Anxiety that are available now.

he day arrives when you are going to publicly speak. You are ready. Or are you Nervous? Anxious? Terrified? Excited? Maybe all of the above? You’ve been in that situation before, haven’t you? You arrived at the venue on time in order to prepare. You are happy with the visual aids, props, room and room layout. You have checked how to use the equipment. You have completed all the planning and preparation required. You have learned and practised the presentation/speech numerous times, (not too well or it may come across as though you are reading it!!!). You have made sure you are dressed and groomed appropriately and in keeping with the audience’s expectations. Your notes are all in order. You are ready to vary the tone of your voice, to lift the energy and inspire your audience. You are focused on what the audience wants and expects. But…. …are you ready? You are still not confident, are you? It happens to us all. We are fully prepared but “just not confident enough”. So how do you boost your confidence? Think about an event in the past where you did something, which worked out absolutely fantastic for you. Imagine stepping onto the stage just as confident when you were promoted or just finished a 10 mile run or asked someone out on a date and they said yes or receiving great feedback from your boss’s boss. Well you can and all it takes is practice. This is an exercise I learned from Dr Richard Bandler, the co-founder of NLP, which all super successful individuals use. Know it…use it…and you could be like them. Try this 5-minute exercise: • Imagine a time when you were super-confident • Remind yourself what happened What were people saying to you?  How did you feel?  What did you see?  Was there any particular sounds or smells?  Are you painting the picture of when you felt super-confident? Make the picture really bright and big How do you feel right now? More confident then you did 5 minutes ago? Most probably. By remembering past experiences and allowing the feelings to spread all over you, you are telling you brain that the experience is happening right now �” in this moment. This is a simple exercise to boost your confidence. Complete the exercise the next time you are about to step onto the stage. Be calm, walk on the stage or to the meeting with your head held high and make sure you are smiling. Now deliver magnificently.

About the Author

Andrew Rondeau transformed himself from a $4 an-hour petrol-pump attendant to a highly successful Senior Manager earning $500k every year. Discover How to Maximize Your Income and Minimize Your Effort by receiving Andrew’s free e-Course and report: http://www.greatmanagement.org/

Are you organized for a pop quiz? Define glossophobia. If you are thoughts that this word means an intense horror of something, you are central there. Glossophobia is an acute concern of known idiom. Now heave your hand if you bear from glossophobia. Chances are, your hand is high in the air right about now. Statistics have revealed that municipal dialect anxiety is right up there with an alarm of snakes and downfall. It is sheer that known terms sends many to the depths of terror, but the good rumor is that there are methods that you can employ to overcome your known words worry.

The first question to address when confronting a community dialect phobia is why the fear exists in the first place. For most folks, the thought of status in front of a group of people makes them worry about how they will be perceived by the crowd. No one needs to be laughed at, or seen as foolish, and putting manually in the broadcast eye seems to intensify the odds of that stirring. You may be alarmed that you will forget what to say, or that you will stumble over your words. If you endure from this kind of fear of known words, here are a few tips to help you overcome them.

How to See your Audience

There is an age-old model of advice that suggests you will be minus worried before a crowd if you visualize the people in the listeners in their underwear. Most community speakers will perhaps approve that this is not the most effective way to style the viewers coolly and professionally. Perhaps a better structure is to ponder the verity that these folks want to see you work in you’re civic chatting work as much as you do. Think of the group as pulling for you, and you will have a, much better gamble of connecting with your crowd. It also helps to calculate to ten once you consider the pedestal, and, before you dawn language. This will give your audience a fortune to groom for what you have to say, and will allocate you to take hegemony of the extent. Once you open dialogue, grin and make eye call with your group to get them to reply to you with addition and enthusiasm. It may not be a relaxed mission if your knees are knocking below, but it will help you to relax a bit and gain some confidence before launch your tongue.

Of course, overcoming a communal dialogue phobia begins before you ever pierce the auditorium. If you have prepared your sermon thoroughly, and researched the scope that you will be dialogue in, the crowd that you will be talking to and the capital that you will be using, you will purely contact the happening with a great pact more confidence. It also helps to follow your oration several epoch before the big day. Don’t rely only on the mirror for your routine time each (though this is one good technique). Practice in front of your family and links, and allow them to suggest constructive opinion to help you improve. This applied will intensely help you to get gone your broadcast dialogue phobia.

Finally, consider that many people bear from the same public dialect phobia that you are experiencing. Even some prominent performers still have to wrestle with stage dread before a performance. Knowing that you are not lonely in your fear will be a great help in overcoming your public idiom phobia. And once you have delivered a few of these speeches, the treat will most definitely become much easier. Practice makes textbook or at slightest minus dreadful.

For tips on list of phobias and commitment phobia, visit the Phobia List website.

I’m going to go ahead and apologize now. This article may hurt a few feelings. It may cause people to curse me. It might even cause somebody to throw something. Hopefully, it will inspire some people to trash their fear of public speaking while I’m at it.It’s been well documented that the fear of public speaking grips a good number of adults.

Public speaking is often said to rank higher on our list of fears that laying six feet deep in the dirt. Some people draw the analogy of a funeral by saying that most people would rather be in the casket than delivering the eulogy. I don’t know about you but I’m on a streak of leaving funerals alive.

Let’s dive headfirst into the Top 3 Reasons Why Public Speaking Fear is Ridiculous.

1 – It’s Unavoidable

What is that you’re saying.

You can avoid public speaking?

You don’t have to present ideas if you don’t want to?

You hate it so much that the very thought makes your stomach turn so you’ll never do it?

OK. You got me. If you prefer to live your entire life in a cave you can avoid it. If robbing yourself of the best life possible is your forte then go for it. If cowering in fear is your preferred plan then have at it. I hope you have fun and I’m glad you raised those concerns.

The story is a little different for the rest of the humans on earth. You know who I’m talking about. I’m talking about those strange people that interact with others. Those crazy people that have careers. Those insane few that attend social events with the intention of (gasp) talking to other people. Those absolutely loony married men and women who are raising a family together.

Those people absolutely can’t avoid it. I’d be willing to bet you a pair of my favorite socks that you are one of the 99.9 percent.

2 – It’s Simple

When I was in college there were quite a few classes that I didn’t care much for. Computer Science was an annoying class that didn’t interest me at all. Calculus struck me as arbitrarily overcomplicated math that someone with too much time on their hands thought up.

As much I as I hated those two they were no comparison for the class I hated the most.

That class was . . . physics.

I liked the idea of taking a physics class and learning about the world around me. The actual course design was another monster altogether. Every week there were multiple homework assignments due. Each assignment had 8 questions with 4 or 5 sub questions. Every week there was a three hour lab (Did I mention my lab was on Friday?). Once a month we would have an insane test with 8 or 9 questions on it. The room for error on those tests was 2 questions max. After that you could consider the test failed. The material was foreign and poorly explained. If you had any hope of getting a decent grade in the class then you had to commit at least 15 hours to the course each week.

Physics was the bane of my college career because it was unconstitutionally hard, boring, tedious, and time consuming. I won’t name my professors because I like to protect the innocent.

Public speaking will never rival physics on the difficulty scale. There are no ballistics, kinematics, kinetics, or gravitational force formulas to memorize and apply. When you’re speaking its usually you and 20 or so people in the room. All you have to do is grab their attention, stuff them full of good information, and give them a closing they can’t forget.

Which would you rather do?

1. Calculate the thermodynamic potential of a system
2. Convince 20 people that its worth their time to listen to you

I’ll take menu option #2 waiter. It looks good from here.

3 – Public Speaking is Harmless

Here’s a list of phobias that I agree and sympathize with:

• Androphobia – The fear of men (men are silly, insane, immature creatures).
• Allodoxaphobia – The fear of opinions (the world would be better off with more facts and fewer opinions).
• Caligynephobia – The fear of beautiful women (they can be so harsh when they reject you).
• Coprastasophobia – The fear of constipation (constipation isn’t fun . . . not that I would know or anything).
• Zemmiphobia – The fear of the great mole rat (never seen one but it sounds mean).

Men, beautiful women, opinions, constipation, and the great mole rat have all caused great pain. Men start wars so that beautiful women will have high opinions of them. Constipation usually puts an end to the war.

The great mole rat just has a reputation of being a mean fellow.

The only thing public speaking has ever hurt is the occasional ego or 2 (other than that its completely harmless).

Conclusion

The fear of public speaking really is ridiculous. Each of us gives some sort of public speech day in and day out. Don’t be afraid because you have to stand up in front of a group. Public speaking is an unavoidable, simple, and harmless part of life.

Embrace it as such.

Marcus Smith is a creative force in the public speaking world who strives to meet the needs of each and every client. His experience as the Toastmasters President at a fortune 15 company will prove invaluable to you.