How You Can Overcome Your Fear Of Public Speaking

For some people, public speaking is an ordeal. Speaking in front of an internal team is bad enough and this gets even worse when they have to speak to an external audience. There is the great fear that some of these people know more than you.

Knowing more is not the only qualification that is being considered in public speaking. Being a speaker means being a subject matter specialist on the topic you are to discuss with your audience, and the ability to bring it across to the audience.

No matter how well-prepared you are, you will experience the "butterfly" thing in your stomach which can cause you to lose focus if left unmanaged. Unless you are cold dead, you will experience the nerves in you and feel the usual symptoms of delivering even the simplest pep talks.

You Are Not Alone

In two separate studies conducted regarding public speaking, it shows that more than 40% of the respondents have a fear of public speaking and do not consider doing it in their lives.

In another related study of fear, 70% of the respondents ranked public speaking as something they will most consider as a panic situation. Additionally, more than 80% of the surveyed population would consider dying instead of delivering an actual speech in front of a huge crowd.

No matter what the circumstances are, handling a speaking engagement requires skills, intellect and time management intertwined to produce the best results characteristic of experienced individuals.

Tips for a Perfect Speech

There are rules and there are rules on public speaking. While you may have your own fears, there are things that you can do to speak in front of a large audience like a pro and create that good and lasting impression.

Not only will that effective and convincing speech delivery make you popular among the larger audiences, it feels good as well on your part for it is something that you can consider as part of your accomplishments.

SOme guidelines are provided below. These have proven effective for some people. Every individual is unique and not every rule will apply to every one. Try out each one. Pick out those that work for you and keep applying them. It will give you a good start in handling the fear of public speaking.

Your personality will be your auxiliary tool in choosing which among the recommendations listed below works best for you and will also provide you with the best oratorical output possible.

1. Fear is Human

To err is human, to forgive is divine, says the old cliche. While this old saying does not pertain specifically to public speaking, it gives an idea of human imperfection to everything else.

Although our technology has advanced a lot, our ability to commit mistakes is likely guaranteed. However, this same reason should not become a part of your excuse for unsuccessful delivery. Give yourself enough time to practice and master your piece!

2. Practice

For every successful oratorical activity, there are three things a speaker has to put in mind: first is practice, second, practice, and third practice again.

No one can underestimate the power of a constant yet effective speaking drill. This helps you memorize your lines and master them paving the way to creating adlibs as you go along the way.

3. Fill in the Bucket of Confidence

Confidence is what matters in any public speaking activity. Do not let the fear of a speaking presentation control you. Use these emotional and physical limitations to your own advantage and overpower performance anxiety to overcome the fear of public speaking.

4. Expect Nothing But Perfection

Nobody is perfect just as your audiences are not perfect. People fear speaking in front of a large crowd because they are afraid to fail. In a number of studies in psychology, the brain has an inherent ability to store any emotions, be it negative or positive, in the subconscious mind.

The subconscious mind as you know, operates on a non-conscious level of brain activity. It functions without you knowing and creates activities that do not come from your normal willing.

If you convince yourself into believing that you can achieve perfection in your target activity, there is a greater possibility of achieving it. Your mind prepares your body for such an activity and operates as if it has done it before and you will not feel as though you are new to it.

Imagine that you are getting a standing ovation after your speech. This helps greatly in overcoming the fear of public speaking as it feeds your subconscious mind. Imagining making the speech is not a good idea as you might see yourself making mistakes and this gets into the subconscious as well and may increase the fear of public speaking. Instead, just focus on a successful outcome and how excited and happy you are personally and how the audience is very appreciative of the content value that you provided.

5. Act as If No One is Watching

We sometimes fail because we set standards that are way too high for us to achieve. This limits us from achieving the level of success that we are capable of reaching and hinders us for further accomplishments in the task.

Your audience would definitely not want to see you trembling and communicate the sense of nervousness in yourself so you better hide it as much as possible. Do not make a big deal out of your own errors but instead move ahead and keep a positive outlook that everything will turn out just fine.

There is only one way to overcome the fear of public speaking. Do it and learn from the experiences.

Article Source: http://www.rightbiz.com

Regina Maniam has many years of experience in sales and marketing. She shares tips on how you can overcome fear of public speaking. You can find more articles and information at www.lifecoachingsecret.com.

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