Yes, it's
a corny line to deliver, but it's also amusing, it gets your public speech going,
and it's a beginning!
The thing is, fear of public speaking affects us all,
it seems, at some point in our life. But this is a learned fear,
and there is no reason that this fear cannot be challenged and overcome.
Yes,
your public speaking phobia is unnecessary - you need not fear public speaking. You
simply have to face this fear (as ever) and learn what you need to do become comfortable
speaking in front of others.
To help you do this, I've included the thoughts of Edward Hope (Controlling Your Fear of Public Speaking as voiced by me), and my own experiences
of overcoming fear of public speaking
What
more could you want, eh? (Surely you don't want me to make a speech!)
Controlling Your Fear of Public Speaking
What I say...
Unusually
shy as a child, I don't even particularly like taking centre stage in a group
of friends, let alone speak in front of people. So that means that...
making a Best Man's speech (I've given two), or
giving presentations
at work (done a few of those), or even
teaching a class of students (I
taught a 1-week computer class several times)
is the type of thing
that leaves me feeling anxious, weeks and months in advance, and I don't enjoy
enjoy myself at the time, either!
Yes, it's fair to say that I have (or
rather had) a public speaking fear.
My Public Speaking Fear Example
I really noticed my fear of
public speaking when I stood up to read a short story I'd written to a group
of strangers (mostly) in my local library, one evening as part of Holmfirth Artweek
in 2008. I made a mess of my introduction (unrehearsed), and soon after my throat
became incredibly dry, and I started to shake the paper that I was reading from.
Yuck! I did not
enjoy this experience and pretty much decided then and there to take a public
speaking course (see details below). And that's when I discovered that 'dry
throat' phenomena is quite a common symptom of public speaking phobia.
Funnily
enough, I really enjoyed the presentation skills course - I was a bit of
a star, don't you know! - and it gave me an appetite for performance. Yes, performance!
I now want to do a stand-up comedy course - not because I'm a funny man or anything
(heaven forbid!), but because this seems like the ultimate 'public speaking fear'
challenge - I want to sing in a karaoke bar (this is something that you would
NEVER have heard me say even a few years ago), and I want to even be in my own
band!
Okay, overcoming fear of public speaking is not easy, but my
own somewhat transformational experience does show that it is possible, if you
take the necessary steps. I firmly believe that you (and I) can overcome this
phobia, I really do...
What Edward Hope says...
...Which leads me to what Edward
Hope says about public speaking fear.
These are some of the overcoming
public speaking phobia techniques that Edward Hope suggests (in the video below), with my comments
afterwards:
Do the thing you fear!
This not only applies
to overcoming fear of public speaking, it applies to any
fear
Much
better to respond positively to your mistake than negatively - for you and the
audience.
Know your subject
...And practice,
practice, practice. Even people with seemingly no public speaking fears like US
presidents Obama and Clinton practice their speeches over and over again.
Edward's
thoughts give us all hope (if you'll pardon the pun!)
So... unaccustomed to public speaking as I am (ahem!") I
think it's time for you to listen to me sharing the wisdom of Edward Hope...
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