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."
On the first day of class I got into a class of kids who all appeared sane and public speaking anxiety free. I wished I had their confidence. As my luck would have it I was summoned to the front of the class to introduce myself to the class. I took a deep breath of confidence and went to the front of the class. Standing at the front of the class I felt fairly normal, but as soon as I opened my mouth that breath of confidence slipped right out.
Fear of public speaking? Gone. It was as if, she said, this fear had never existed.Public speaking class. We were to give a three to five minute speech about ourselves. They were OK, nothing to get excited about, and then Byron R.'s turn came. Since that April spring day I've heard many speeches, but I've never seen anyone as nervous as Byron, which was surprising to all of us because he was one of the school tough guys, or so we thought.
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:
Jerry Seinfeld once said:"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."Mark Twain said this:"There are only two types of public speakers in the world. 1. Those who are nervous and 2. Those who are liars."A very useful acronym to help you put fear in a different perspective is: FEAR is: False - Evidence - Appearing- Real Keep in mind that feelings are not facts. Check the facts before you act (like running away and hiding) on your feelings.
Despite the terror you experience in front of an audience you can become a confident public speaker. You can experience the same freedom and normalcy that you feel when talking to your friends in front of an audience. So please, my friend, do not miss out of life or suffer a life of ruin because of fear of public speaking. There is no joy there.The fear of public speaking is one of life's most stressful experiences. It is not uncommon for people to be utterly terrified of public speaking to a crowd. A number of individuals would rather fall dead than walk up on a stage and address a gathering. In fact, it needn't even be a gathering. For some people, even the concept of a thousand people being able to hear or see them speak, either by means of the radio or through television, can make them break out in a cold sweat.
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 body of your speech,you organize your examples, quotes, facts, and statistics toward the response you desire. The body is where you present your points and proofs, making sure they all connect and move forward and connect to your concluding remarks.The conclusion of your speech is, I believe, one of its more strategic elements. If well-handled it will be remembered and you will leave your audience with a lasting impression.
As explained, almost everyone who is afraid of speaking in public is ultimately scared of being unable to do so, therefore the easiest way of making them 'un-afraid' is by diverting their mind from their apprehension. A number of people use a click pen or a paper clip to keep themselves occupied during a speech. Keep clicking the pen or keep trying to straighten the paper clip and all that extra energy that your anxiety burdens you with will fly straight out of the window.
[Fear Of Public Speaking]
On the first day of class I got into a class of kids who all appeared sane and public speaking anxiety free. I wished I had their confidence. As my luck would have it I was summoned to the front of the class to introduce myself to the class. I took a deep breath of confidence and went to the front of the class. Standing at the front of the class I felt fairly normal, but as soon as I opened my mouth that breath of confidence slipped right out.
Fear of public speaking? Gone. It was as if, she said, this fear had never existed.Public speaking class. We were to give a three to five minute speech about ourselves. They were OK, nothing to get excited about, and then Byron R.'s turn came. Since that April spring day I've heard many speeches, but I've never seen anyone as nervous as Byron, which was surprising to all of us because he was one of the school tough guys, or so we thought.
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:
Jerry Seinfeld once said:"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."Mark Twain said this:"There are only two types of public speakers in the world. 1. Those who are nervous and 2. Those who are liars."A very useful acronym to help you put fear in a different perspective is: FEAR is: False - Evidence - Appearing- Real Keep in mind that feelings are not facts. Check the facts before you act (like running away and hiding) on your feelings.
Despite the terror you experience in front of an audience you can become a confident public speaker. You can experience the same freedom and normalcy that you feel when talking to your friends in front of an audience. So please, my friend, do not miss out of life or suffer a life of ruin because of fear of public speaking. There is no joy there.The fear of public speaking is one of life's most stressful experiences. It is not uncommon for people to be utterly terrified of public speaking to a crowd. A number of individuals would rather fall dead than walk up on a stage and address a gathering. In fact, it needn't even be a gathering. For some people, even the concept of a thousand people being able to hear or see them speak, either by means of the radio or through television, can make them break out in a cold sweat.
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 body of your speech,you organize your examples, quotes, facts, and statistics toward the response you desire. The body is where you present your points and proofs, making sure they all connect and move forward and connect to your concluding remarks.The conclusion of your speech is, I believe, one of its more strategic elements. If well-handled it will be remembered and you will leave your audience with a lasting impression.
As explained, almost everyone who is afraid of speaking in public is ultimately scared of being unable to do so, therefore the easiest way of making them 'un-afraid' is by diverting their mind from their apprehension. A number of people use a click pen or a paper clip to keep themselves occupied during a speech. Keep clicking the pen or keep trying to straighten the paper clip and all that extra energy that your anxiety burdens you with will fly straight out of the window.
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