 |
Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking
Author: Terry Gault  | Posted: 28-04-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 5 | Rating: (50)  (?) 
While fear pervades many aspects of business, presentations consistently drive it to exquisitely high levels. We use the term "presentation" to include any important one-on-one meeting, small group discussions around a table, or speaking before an audience of thousands.
We are talking about a particular kind of fear. Some fear helps motivate you to divert time from the pounding surf of your daily schedule and prepare for your presentation. There comes a point for most of us, however, when the fear is no longer useful. It has crossed the line from excitement to dread. Instead of driving preparation, it now impairs concentration and kills energy.
Fear has a thousand faces, but we have only three basic responses:
1. Ignore it
2. Evade it
3. Transcend it
Ignoring Fear
Merely suffering through your fear is the simplest and most common response. It requires no learning, effort or practice. Negative consequences flow from this path. In addition to being very stressful, fear tends to break concentration during preparation and disturbs other obligations.
Perhaps even more importantly, these enervating fears can also have an extremely negative impact on your performance in delivering your presentation. Fear robs your ability to casually walk to the stage and be yourself. It tends to kill excitement and block the ability to connect deeply with your audience. Fear can make your body stiff, your breathing labored and your physical movement unnatural.
Evading Fear
Usually the first step in dealing with your fear of the big presentation is figuring out how to avoid the fear. Even if you are looking for a longer term solution, at least temporarily avoiding the problem is a key step in creating the space to fashion more encompassing approaches.
Transcending Fear
Creative visualization is the first step in removing yourself from the scary thoughts and consciously guiding your mind to a new space: actively imagining the desired end result.
Professional and Olympic athletes spend time imagining the desired end result and track the measurable increased performance that follows the creative visualization sessions. Fear stems from the unconscious repetitive thoughts and feelings about failing.
VISUALIZATION
The key to successful visualizations is simultaneously feeling the emotions that would naturally attach to images that you see. To drive emotion, the most powerful vehicle is music - - music that stirs you. Often it is high energy music, something like the Rocky theme, hard driving rock, or passionate jazz or classical. The key is that it drives your energy higher, actively imagining the desired end result.
In visualization, there are two distinct ways to envision yourself: either looking at yourself from the position of an outside observer, or seeing the whole event through your own eyes. While everyone is different, it is usually easier to start by seeing an image of yourself from the perspective of an outside observer. As time goes by, many find it more effective to do the visualization through your eyes as a presenter.
Imagine the room in which you will present. If you know the room location, try and visit it before hand so you can create the exact setting of your presentation. If you can't see a remote location, just imagine the kind of room it is likely to be.
VISUALIZATION EXERCISE
Imagine what you will experience prior to the presentation. See yourself walking toward the spot from which you will present.
As you see yourself approaching "the moment of truth," can you feel where in your body the tension resides?
As you continue walking to the front of the room, see if you can exchange the feelings of fear with a closely related feeling - excitement. Fear is often a part of excitement and their affect on the body is the same: pounding pulse, heavy breathing, a slight shake in the extremities.
Feel the empowering sense that this could be your break-through moment. This could be when you reach to a higher level than you ever thought possible.
Imagine yourself now in front of the audience facing them, looking calmly and intently into their faces. Take a big breath and feel relaxation welling-up within you.
See their faces. Are they interested? Do they need something to enliven them? Take a moment for some "in-flow" of information before you begin the "out-flow" of information.
Rate this Article:
Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/presentation-articles/overcoming-the-fear-of-public-speaking-398702.html
 About the Author:The Henderson Group trains and coaches business professionals in the art of communication and presentation through our experiential methodology. Since 1990, The Henderson Group has helped Fortune 500 companies worldwide improve employee productivity and business results through the development of communication skills. You can find us online at SpeakFearlessly.net and HendersonGroup.com or Attend A Workshop
|
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free! |
|
Latest Presentation Articles
Trying 'too Hard' in Public Speaking
By: Nancy Daniels | 13/10/2008
Is it possible to try ‘too hard’ in public speaking? Most definitely. Whereas that particular group of people is considerably smaller than the underachieving group (those who are not well prepared), the single greatest problem for the overachievers is in their overachievement: it prevents them from being themselves in public speaking.
Economical Way for Web Conference Using Im and Online Presentation
By: SunnyY | 13/10/2008
Still rush about cities to take part in a conference? Via web conference to save your money and time using IM and online Flash Presentation!
Which Word Best Describes Your Speaking Voice?
By: Nancy Daniels | 11/10/2008
Can you pick one word from the following list that describes your voice?
High-pitched, whiny, nasal, hoarse, throaty, gravelly, scratchy, whispery, soft, loud, strident, shrill, thick, thin, young-sounding, old-sounding, muddy, chirpy, raspy, tight, mumbling, wispy.
The Speech Versus the Presentation: Part 3
By: Nancy Daniels | 10/10/2008
In Part 1 of The Speech Versus The Presentation, I talked about the differences between those two formats whereas in Part 2, I discussed speechwriting and how the format is identical for both. While there are many similarities in the delivery of both the speech and the presentation, there is one important difference: Speeches are read; presentations are spoken; and, neither should be memorized.
The Speech Versus the Presentation: Part 2
By: Nancy Daniels | 09/10/2008
In Part 1, I discussed the differences between a speech and a presentation. And, while they have their differences, the format for the speech and the presentation are exactly the same whether you are dealing with an informative or a persuasive piece. In all good speechwriting, you will find that both speeches and presentations consist of an opening, a development, and a closing.
The Speech Versus the Presentation: Part 1
By: Nancy Daniels | 08/10/2008
Many people use the words speech and presentation interchangeably. Admittedly, I often do so myself. But, there is a difference: how we 'deliver' a speech is not the same way we 'give' a presentation. A speech is more formal than a presentation; a speech is usually shorter than a presentation; and, according to Webster's Dictionary, a speech is a public discourse: an address. Define address and we have: to deliver a formal speech.
Is Your Personal Introduction Something Worth Remembering?
By: Nancy Daniels | 07/10/2008
Have you ever been to a business meeting in which all in attendance had to stand and introduce themselves and you heard basically the same thing from each and every individual? One of the worst things we do as a people is our personal introduction. While the names and the businesses will be different, everyone sounds like everyone else; and, by sounding like everyone else, we don’t actually remember anyone else.
What Counts the Most in Public Speaking? Content or Delivery
By: Nancy Daniels | 06/10/2008
While some academics may argue that one’s content is more important than one’s delivery, I beg to differ. If one’s delivery is of lesser value than one’s content, why not copy the speech, pass it out, and then everyone can go home or back to work? Assuming your audience is there to hear you speak about a topic of interest to them, is it not advisable to deliver your material in an engaging fashion? Why not captivate your audience?
More from Terry Gault
Presentation and Baseball: the Power of Being Present
By: Terry Gault | 12/05/2008 | Presentation
I recently came across an op-ed article in the New York Times by David Brooks that struck me as significant for the art of presenting.
Wake Up Your Audience
By: Terry Gault | 28/04/2008 | Presentation
Why do you make presentations? Is it your idea? An assignment? A necessity? Part of your job? Of course there must be a reason for each presentation: to sell...to educate...to motivate. But to what kind of audience? To your boss? To an audience of a thousand people? Or maybe to one very important client? (But aren't all clients important?) How many of us would choose to stand up in front of people without a reason? Well, some might, but the majority of us would not.
Using Symbols in Your Presentation
By: Terry Gault | 28/04/2008 | Presentation
"Everything in life cannot be grasped by the logic-centered left brain." D.T.Suzuki
Transparencey and Reputation
By: Terry Gault | 28/04/2008 | Presentation
When an eager young person, perhaps a recent college graduate, applies for a job, will they mention their MySpace page? Or their Facebook entry? Probably not, but those sites can be checked, regardless of whether or not they've added them to their resume, application or(for some reason) are discussing them during their job interview. Employers engaged in the hiring process today often consider their candidate's online pictures and pages, which are quickly and easily accessible on the internet.
The Path to Presentation Peace: Mindfulness and Stillness
By: Terry Gault | 28/04/2008 | Presentation
While a fairly new concept in schools, the practice of mindfulness has been used widely and successfully in hospitals and businesses, sports teams and even in prisons. In the article, the principal of Piedmont says, "If we can help children slow down and think, they have the answers within themselves."
The Empathetic Paraphrase
By: Terry Gault | 28/04/2008 | Presentation
How do you prove to a speaker that you are really listening to what they are saying?
The Discovery Process: Mental Maps
By: Terry Gault | 28/04/2008 | Presentation
How customers view you or your products is garnered by a framework of assumptions, stories and images in their minds.
If you really want to influence someone, your first task is to understand how they think. An individual's perspective on the world can be identified and "mapped."
The Art of Presentation Tip #1
By: Terry Gault | 28/04/2008 | Presentation
We present to shift the audience's perspective. We want to sell...we want to educate...we want to motivate.
None of this can happen until you awaken your audience and get their attention.
|
|
Business 
