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Overcome Your Public Speaking Fear..."Unaccustomed to public speaking as I am..." 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 for it that 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 an article my Edward Hope called Controlling Your Fear of Public Speaking, my own experiences of overcoming fear of public speaking and a very amusing YouTube video. What more could you want, eh? (Surely you don't want me to make a speech! ;-) ) Seriously, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this fear - please share! Public speaking fear - what I say...Unusually shy as a child - is it me, or can you hear the sound of fiddles playing in the distance? ;-) - 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...
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. 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. It
was the dry throat thing that disturbed me most, and I had no idea what to do
with it except to gulp on imaginary fluids in my mouth and to read on. (If only
I had been hypnotised,
first, to believe that I was a great speaker!) 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. ...Which leads me to what Edward Hope says about public speaking fear in his article 'Controlling Your Fear of Public Speaking'. Edward stars with, "As stage fright has been learned it is impossible to control and overcome the anxiety." which I politely think is mistaken. I think that because something is learned means there is reason to believe that it can be changed. So I think that Edward meant to say 'possible' rather than 'impossible'. Anyway, these are some of the overcoming public speaking phobia techniques that Edward Hope suggests, with my comments afterwards:
Edward's article gives us all hope, and so do the public speaking fears' resources that follow it. So... unaccustomed to not saying much as I am (ahem!") I think it's time for us to listen to what Edward Hope has to say... Public Speaking Fear - Controlling Your Fear of Public SpeakingPublic speaking fear - what Edward Hope says...To persuade, a speaker must talk fluently with courage and confidence. When fear or timidity becomes evident, an audience loses confidence in a speaker's ability to persuade. Obviously, if he cannot control himself how can he hope to persuade others? The fear of public speaking is common to most people around the world. It is very often one of the top three fears of people in surveys. However, stage fright must be learned because people have only two natural fears at birth — the fear of falling and fear of loud noise. As stage fright has been learned it is impossible to control and overcome the anxiety. The common fears associated with public speaking are - Fear of the unknown - new situations can be frightening. Remember the first time you were asked on a date or asked for one, or when you first began to drive. - Fear of rejection - the feeling that the speech may be either criticised behind your back or openly. - Fear of failure or making a mistake - you may forget part of your speech or mispronounce a word etc Now we know what the fears are and that they were learned, how do you control them? Here are 8 techniques to use overcoming the anxiety;
Public speaking anxiety is something that can be overcome by all. It is a skill that is in the reach of anyone. Through a good attitude, [and] practice and preparation, it is possible for all to become proficient speakers ---------------------------------------------------- Article source: http://www.submityourarticle.com/a.php?a=20064 Public speaking fear - what YouTube has to say..."I hate public speaking"
goes the song in this amusing YouTube video. Watch, identify, and laugh (and sing)
along... :-) Public speaking fear - what these recommended resources say...Here are a few online resources that can help your fear of public speaking:
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