 | #81 Master your fear of public speakingposted by Justin Barry, Group AdministratorThursday, September 23rd 2010 @ 1:42 PM |
Some studies have shown that fear of public speaking ranks up there with the fear of death...don't worry, help is just round the corner.
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The truth is public speaking does not have to be stressful if you keep just a few key principles in mind and in time speaking in public will become an invigorating experience for you.
So lets ask the question "why do people find public speaking stressful?"
Public speaking is a frightening experience! You must accept that life itself, including public speaking, is NOT inherently stressful. Thousands of human beings have learned to speak in front of groups with little or no stress at all. You are no more or less human than they are. If they can conquer the fear of public speaking, so can you!
You have to be a great speaker to succeed! You may have seen some exceptional speakers and may have thought that this is the standard you need to achieve. That is not what public speaking is all about. It all depends on how you, and your audience, define "success." and your audience doesn't expect perfection. The essence of public speaking is to give your audience something of value. So if they walk away feeling happy or entertained, they will consider their time with you worthwhile.
I need to provide excellent content! As long as I focused on these two or three key points, I was able to speak at length about them by naturally drawing upon my past experiences and knowledge.
I need to be very funny and witty in my presentation! If being humorous feels comfortable for you, then go for it, however, remember you don't need to take this approach. What about being humble as it makes you more credible, more believable because people will connect with you more easily. You become "one of them" instead of an expertwho appears head and shoulders above them.
Bad things can happen!! People sometimes think that awful, terrible, or publicly humiliating will happen to them. What if they all get up and leave after the first five minutes! What if they ask harsh questions or talk during my presentation. Even if these events do happen, it's useful to have a plan in mind to deal with this. For example,
If people get up and head for the door, I would stop what I'm doing and ask for feedback. Was there something about my topic, or were they simply in the wrong room at the start and didn't know it?
Final note...remember, if you get up in front of an audience and find this stressful, it only means you need to review the key points I have made earlier. You see practise makes perfect and therefore go back out and speak again until you get it right. It may take time, but the long-term rewards will be worth it!!
