Fear of Speaking in Public

I’m a professional psychologist, a member of Rotary, a book author (on achievement motivation), a resume writer and career coach, and someone who has heard an endless number of professional and non-professional speakers for over 30 years. I’ve seen how it’s the little things that make a big difference. Here are 7 “little things” you can do that will instantly improve your public speaking dramatically.

1. TALK TWICE AS SLOW. Most speakers (even professional ones) talk too fast. Have you ever listened carefully to professional speakers on TV? They talk slower than in normal conversational speech. Slow down. Take your time. Don’t rush through individual words. Linger on them. It may feel unnatural, but just listen to a tape recording of yourself. It will undoubtedly sound a lot better.

2. TALK TWICE AS LOUD. Most speakers talk too softly. Speak up. It may seem to you that you are screaming, but (again) a tape recording will prove that it sounds fine.

3. ENUNCIATE THE CONSONANT SOUNDS CLEARLY. When we listen, we hear clearly because of the consonant sounds (the “hard” sounds – sss, t, d, p, m, and so forth), not the vowels (a, e, i, o, and u). Pay attention to those hard sounds. Make sure they are clear and distinct. Exaggerate them.

4. USE SHORT SENTENCES. You may like speaking in long, long sentences, but your audience doesn’t. Break up your ideas into short sentences. “Once idea per sentence” is as good a rule for speaking as it is for writing.

5. PAUSE OFTEN. Forget the ummmms and the aaahhhhs. Dead silence for a few seconds may seem like an eternity to you, but an audience doesn’t mind it at all. Take your time. Pausing creates interest and anticipation.

6. ORGANIZE YOUR TALK AROUND 3 TO 5 BULLET POINTS. No matter what you may think of off-the-cuff speeches and how entertaining they may be, nobody likes rambling on and on. Whatever you have to say, put it in the form of 3 to 5 bullet points. You’ll make listeners out of your audience.

7. SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST. What is the most important, the most dramatic, the most impactful thing you have to say in your talk? Figure out what it is, and PUT IT LAST. That’s the most effective way to end a talk.

Like a taser gun shot to the butt a fear of public speaking can send shockwaves through your body that will make you feel disorientated and out of control! It can affect you even months in advance if you know that you have to speak publicly and nothing seems to help or shift it. You have tried braving it but got nowhere. You have got out of situations of speaking publicly however feel guilty as you have let someone else or yourself down. You have missed many an opportunity to grow and develop because of this most hideous phobia. Don’t you owe it to yourself to get this sorted out? If so, read on…
So, do you feel like you want the floor to open up and swallow you in when you speak publicly or do not even get that far as the lead up is just too much for you to cope, so you give up before attempting it? Do you feel that it is an irrational fear, however still can’t seem to get a handle on it and begin take control? Do you wish that you could reach your goals without facing your public speaking anxiety, but know that this is just as unlikely as the abolition of taxes? Do you just wish that there were an easy way that you could follow to deal with this – with no pain or embarrassment? Well if you are real serious about getting rid of your public speaking fear then I know just the thing that will help.
For many years hypnosis has been used for entertainment in places like Vegas and high school proms the world over. We see what seem to be amazing results of people acting crazy and doing strange things. Many people think that it is faked and that it is all put on, however I wouldn’t buy into this theory if I were you. Think about it! Have you ever seen in a newspaper and interview with someone that took part in a stage show and said that it was all staged? No? I thought as much and the reason why is that Hypnosis – really is that powerful! Really!
For many years now I, like a lot of other Hypnotherapist have been using the sheer power of Hypnosis to help people with many issues, such as stopping smoking, slimming and also dealing with public speaking anxiety. If you really want to harness the amazing power of Hypnosis and Self Hypnosis then I recommend that you grab some more information on the topic and make a start today! Your resolution could be just around the corner – don’t let this be the fish that got away – make a change today!

Preparation for public speaking is more than fact-finding or effective writing and then repeating the words by rote to your audience. Learning the more subtle skills like voice control and modulation, paper and equipment handling, posture and presentation, humor and timing, ease and confidence all require preparation.
Preparation techniques for public speaking includes practice, “real” practice, not just memorization. We’re all familiar with the adage, Practice make perfect”. But practice does not make perfect,Perfect Practice Makes Perfect.
Practice in front of a mirror 10 to 15 minutes a day, two or three times until the event. Practice speaking at the correct volume for the crowd and room size. You do not want to be overpowering or too faint to be heard.
Speak slowly and clearly. After reading a line, pause and look in the mirror, pretending you are looking at the audience, then return to your speech and repeat. To get immediate and realistic feedback, record your speech into a tape recorder and then listen critically.
You will hear where your strong points lie and the areas that need improvement. Doing that even once is worth ten silent read-throughs In the same way, one stand-up practice in front of friends and family members is worth ten read-alouds in front of a mirror. There will be nothing as helpful as practice and preparation to reduce or eliminate fear of public speaking. Practice, practice, practice.
Visualize your presentation in advance. Not only will your proficiency be increased by visualization, but so will your self confidence. Visualize yourself standing erect and proud, giving a flawless speech, the audience eager to hear every word. See yourself up on stage, fearless and powerful, connecting with your audience. Feel your pride. Hear the applause.
The fear of public speaking ranks high in the ratings of phobias. One of just many of the reasons for this is because of fear that someone in the audience may ask a difficult question after your speech, so anticipate and be ready with answers. There may of course be a question you haven’t anticipated and don’t know the answer to. Simply state, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you”. This will help eliminate your fear of ‘unanswerable questions’ and you can concentrate on your presentation.
Using these preparation techniques for public speaking will help to reduce or eliminate your stage fright. You’ve never learned how to do anything hard without practice, and speaking is the same way. Practice. You owe it to yourself and your audience.

You’re asked to go to the front of the class to discuss the angst of Proust’s literary work or to demonstrate how a pulley works. You’re confident about the topic. It’s the thought of speaking in front of the class that terrifies you, yet there’s no escape. How to survive? Here is how.You Can Do It
Learning public speaking is like an attempt to conquer Mt. Everest. It takes some spunk before you can speak to a crowd without quaking or freezing up. Well, it’s a humbling experience to accept that you’re no orator or charismatic speaker, and it takes courage to do something about it.
Eventually, after much effort at learning public speaking, you’ll be ready to take on the world. You won’t be lighting too many cigarettes with one of your Zippo lighters before a speaking engagement. Not anymore.
How to go about it? You have several options. Sign up with Toastmasters International, discreetly look around for speech tutors, or join a drama group. Or, you can purchase e-books on public speaking, which you can learn at home behind locked doors.
With persistence, you can beat the fear factor in public speaking. It may take a while, but people will soon notice that you’re becoming a confident and lively speaker. This development will be good for your class presentations and your chances for future employment, so these should be enough motivation for you.Speech Problems You Can CorrectStuttering has caused millions of people to agonize over this speech disorder. People who stutter find it difficult to get the sounds out, and they end up repeating part of a word. ‘Water’ is ‘wawawater’, and they get all red when they catch knowing smiles. But with speech therapy and the support of your family, you can get past this problem.Cluttering is the opposite of stuttering. Someone who clutters talks too fast in spurts, sounding jerky, or is simply unsure of what he or she wants to say because of the long pauses between words.Mispronunciation – People laugh or feel awkward when they hear a public speaker mispronounce words. A structured session at the speech laboratory with a speech therapist can solve the problem.Unnecessary fillers – If you count the number of times you say “uh” in your speech, you might be astounded at your propensity to dispense with speech fillers.Regional accents – You shouldn’t be ashamed of your regional accent, but sometimes the embarrassment caused is worse than the fear of catching a deadly virus.Weak voice – Finding yourself repeating a word to be heard? Blame this on a small weak voice, but vocal exercises can strengthen your vocal muscles. Having a medical professional evaluate the condition can also detect serious respiratory or other ailments.Nasal voice – You have a nasal voice if you are talking though your nose. Just pinch your nose and speak, if you have trouble releasing your voice, then you are nasal as they come.Where to Go From Here
Get a book about public speaking and join organizations like Toastmasters and Speaking Circles. Joining a speaking group is more interesting than practicing before a mirror.
You’ll meet more people and forge new friendships, learn from the experience of others, and get good advice. In the aftermath of all your struggles, you might start talking non-stop – but that is another disorder.

People who get paid well to speak all share one of two traits: either they’re famous, or they own “The Skills”. To be able to move people who don’t know you as a celebrity of some sort, you must know how to keep your audience focused on you and your message, and how to keep them on the same page, on the same wavelength, every step of the way.
Keeping an audience with you is simply not possible with the way 99% of all public speakers behave when at the front of a group. When you speak the way most of us have been taught to do from an early age, you engage in behaviors that send the wrong signals to your audience – in many cases exactly the opposite of what you would like to signal. Worse, these standard behaviors actually reduce your cognitive capacity at the time you most desperately need it.
If these statements seem sweeping, please understand that we at PublicSpeakingSkills.com have been training people from business, politics, the military and the clergy for over 12 years in The Skills.
During that time, we have had the privilege to work with over 10,000 people from all walks of life, and here is what we have learned: 99% of speakers engage in exactly the same behaviors, and consequently produce similar results when it comes to the quality of their speaking.
In fact, in every one of our on-site programs, we begin with an exercise that “benchmarks” how each student speaks prior to training, and we are able to predict to the second what each and every participant will do during their initial delivery. To the second!
Good News!
But that’s the good news. It’s good news because we also know that most people speak the way they do simply because they’ve never been shown the proper way. And though many people take courses in public speaking in high school or college, the format of those courses tends to emphasize the content part of speaking rather than the actual physical behaviors one needs to understand in order to acquire The Skills.
If you have ever taken a course in school, we bet that your assignments were to create a series of different types of speeches: The Informative, The Inspirational, The Motivational, etc., etc. Sound familiar?
But what were you taught about the actual delivery, other than to look at everyone in the audience and watch your umms and ahhs? Worse, during your speaking career you probably have been receiving positive feedback for your behaviors no matter what you’ve been doing by people either too polite or simply not knowledgeable enough to tell you otherwise.
Speaking well: talent or training?
When people learn the proper way; when they understand what the audience expects of them as human beings; when they embrace the idea that it’s OK to go into a presentation without having spent hours and hours rehearsing it; when they become comfortable with not knowing what they’re going to say until just before they say it; and when they come to accept that often the most powerful thing they can say is nothing at all, they never engage in the old behaviors again.
They approach every opportunity to speak to a crowd with desire and enthusiasm, and the larger the crowd, the better. They actually see speaking to a group as one of the most relaxing things they can do, as it is one of the few times left in life where they are free to do only one thing at a time. These people have The Skills.
And we can’t emphasize enough that The Skills are, indeed, a set of behaviors that you learn, and not something that you are born with. Only a very small subset of people is ‘born’ with the ability to move a group to action with their words and actions. Those people have what the rest of us don’t: it’s called “charisma”. Charismatics have been known to lead thousands to action by the power of their spoken words, often for good, and sometimes not.
But charisma alone didn’t get Bill Clinton to the top job in the world. Bill Clinton, believe it or not, was not always a great speaker. What he had was both charisma and the brains to know that he did not know everything – and that becoming a great speaker was both an essential job requirement and something that someone could be taught.
Bill Clinton was one of only a handful of men who was elected president of the United States without great personal or family wealth. He got elected on his ability to motivate people to listen to him, work for him, follow him and support him all the way. He was successful because he didn’t simply speak; he spoke with a manner and a style that caused people to not only listen to his words but also to hear them, remember them, and to believe them. Bill Clinton has The Skills.
The Skills supersede genes, culture, background, heritage, and to a large extent even education. Many clients come to us because they want help with their accents or they feel their voice needs correcting in some way.
Although we grant that there are some people with a speaking voice better suited to silent films, for the vast majority an accent or unique pitch only adds to the level of interest they can create as a speaker. That’s because, as we’ll learn, these traits simply add to one’s “humanness”.
It’s about being you
People are not moved by messages delivered by speakers whom they don’t feel are “real”. And yet most of us were taught behaviors that cause us to adopt completely alien personas when we speak to groups. We try to become “Presenterman!” or “Presenterwoman!”. Sadly, Hillary Clinton does this. Could you imagine spending dinner across the table from Hillary Clinton and having her speak to you the way she does to crowds? Pretty painful thought! Yet you could pretty much imagine that if you were sharing dinner with Bill, or Ronald Reagan, the conversation would be not unlike how you know them to speak in public.
Alas, Hillary does not have The Skills.

You might think that you are the best speaker and despite could not manage to grab the attention of the audience you ever spoke before. You might have prepared your presentation after a week long grueling effort but the impact was only 10% or so. This leaves you wondering why have you not been successful at public speeches and presentations although you possess enough knowledge and also do have the required skills. The introduction, the body part and the conclusion all have been spoken in an orderly manner but little it did to captivate the audience.

It can be said then that saying a word is one thing and how it affects the audience is another and the only thing to win over your audience. The great industry speakers often use contemporary jargons and the quotes by famous authors so as to allure the audience.  But looking back at the history of these leading speakers tell us how to avoid the common errors which often a speaker commits and how to develop the art of public speaking. No doubt, a lot of effort goes into the public speaking and the perfection is achieved after a continuous practice and systematic learning.

Often a speaker gets amazed at how the people react to the speeches made at a conference or a seminar. A listener may either nod his head in your favour or shake showing his disapproval and may even doze off if the speech or presentation is not liked by him. At times, it becomes difficult to appease the entire crowd of listeners.

By paying heed to the following common mistakes which often a speaker commits, you can win over the audience.

•Starting without saying “thank-you”: Many speakers especially who are novice commit this mistake. They start with the subject without saying thank you.  The people  like to be given importance and they feel great when they are being told “thank-you”. Contrary to this, if the speech is being delivered internally within the organization, there is no need to say this word.

•Not maintaining an eye-contact: There are speakers who are good and can influence the audience but somehow during the speech can not maintain an eye-contact with the audience. The speaker reads out the lines of entire subject from the projector screen or somehow while speaking is not able to make eye-to-eye contact. This is the biggest mistake one can commit and must be avoided at all costs.

•Taking long pauses while speaking: Many speakers take long pauses because of the reason that they miss out on words. They are not very good communicators and also do not convey the right message while speaking. The use of right words is very-very important. This can be effected by taking up breathing exercises and also practicing to speak for long. In toto, the speaker should be able to say a sentence by maintaining a continuum.

•Shaking or moving while speaking: Often speakers are seen to be moving their hands and body while speaking. The body language is an asset and this should be utilized to make the best use of your opportunity as a speaker. Be comfortable and maintain your posture by standing straight. This is especially so when you are using a podium.

•Speaking the by hearted text: Some speakers just speak those words which seem to be by hearted. Never do this as it creates a negative impression. Speak in either a conversational tone or in a such a manner that it should seem to be authentic and spoken straight from the heart. Aditionally, have your own style which should look original and also do not imitate any other speaker.

The voice-modulation is also very important and maintaining clarity in your voice will lend you credibility whenever you stand up to speak. Above all, in order to be a good speaker, you also need to be a good observer too.

For more infor visit the link:www.itvoir.com

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?  No matter how well-written your content, a boring delivery doesn’t sell. 

Given the opportunity to hear Henry Kissinger or Bill Clinton give a speech, I would sooner listen to Clinton.  Without a doubt, Kissinger’s material is going to be much more erudite than that of the former President; however, Mr. Kissinger’s style of delivery is non-existent.  His voice is dour; he speaks in a monotone; and, he has absolutely no expression. 

Having taught Public Speaking as well as Voice & Diction and Oral Interpretation, I found that, in the beginning of the course, my students tended to be stronger in their content than in their abilities to present.  I therefore spent much of the time on improving those skills.  Differing from others teaching Public Speaking, I never gave them exams on ‘book material.’  Their presentations were their exams.  Public Speaking is a practical course, much like acting or music.   Memorizing terminology, rules or theory for a test in this particular subject is of lesser value than the application and practical usage of that material.

Public speaking is exactly what it says:  speaking in public.  Your audience came to hear you talk to them.  If you are giving a speech, you will be reading it; and, if have strong delivery skills, your audience will not know that you are reading.  They will think you are talking to them.  If you are making a presentation, again you will be talking to your audience, using note cards or some form of visual aid to keep you on topic.

No matter what you intend to deliver to the public, however, ideally you want your content to be as well crafted as possible.   Remember, when we listen to others speaking, we generally regard them as experts in their field.  Thus, you must craft your presentation as well as the experts do. 

If you believe, on the other hand, that your content is more important than your delivery and your speaking skills are poor, watch your audience’s reaction.  There will be more coughing, more yawning, more talking amongst themselves, and definitely more sleepers.  Should the setting allow for it, some will even get up and leave.

Why not look at the picture differently?  Craft your content well, deliver it in a dynamic fashion and you have a win-win situation.  Both are of value; both are important. 

The great Roman orator, Cicero, said, “Without effective delivery, a speech of the highest mental capacity can be held in no esteem, while one of the moderate abilities, with this qualification, may surpass even those of the highest talent.” 

I couldn’t agree more which is why I’d still rather listen to Clinton than Kissinger!

If you’ve already tried traditional methods to get rid of stage fright and it hasn’t worked, it’s time to try more serious public speaking training techniques.

Stage fright is caused by how you hold representations in your mind – a fancy way of saying that whether you know it or not, you’re running scary movies in your mind that create fear.

Using this public speaking training technique you can conquer stage fright quickly and easily.

One of the most effective public speaking training techniques you can use to get rid of stage fright is what I call “The Hero Process”, here are the steps:

1. Identify Your Hero: Who can you think of that would never have stage fright, not in a million years? Who can you think of that could confidently speak to any size audience? This person may be living or not, real or imaginary, someone you know personally or not. Important: pick a Hero that would not have stage fright, ever.

2. Observe Your Hero: It doesn’t matter if you observe your Hero in your mind, on a video, or in person. What you’re looking for here is the outward demonstration of a total lack of stage fright – in other words, how does their face, their voice and their body look when they’re calm and confidently speaking to an audience? Make detailed notes about their face voice and body.

3. Become Your Hero: Emulate and act like your Hero – stand the way s/he would stand. Make your face like their face. Speak the way they would speak. Feel all the feeling of calm confidence they would feel. Try practicing parts of your speech being just like your Hero.

4. Rinse Then Repeat: Go back to being yourself for a minute or so, then practice being your Hero again.

3 tips that make this method work best:

1. Don’t “impersonate” your Hero, just emulate the qualities they have that make them free from stage fright.

2. Use 2 spots on the floor that are six-feet apart; on one spot, you are you. On the other spot, you transform into your Hero.

3. Try different Heroes: if one doesn’t seem to make a difference in how you feel, try another and another until you can speak free from stage fright.

Summary & Bonus Tips: This is not “fake it until you make it” because the Hero Process literally rewires neural connections in your brain to short circuit stage fright and build new neural connections for calm confidence about public speaking. Remember – you are emulating, not imitating. Use this 2 ways: to practice speaking without stage fright, and to stop an on-stage panic attack by becoming your Hero and instantly calm down.

Bonus tips: by emulating your hero, you can also become a much better and more effective speaker more quickly. Feel free to emulate several different heroes, or even take the best qualities of various heroes who are great speakers and build a “super-hero” to emulate.

For more pubic speaking training articles visit http://www.bestpublicspeakingtraining.com

In teaching public speaking, I find that many of my clients, as well as my students, stand at the lectern or on the podium and try to be someone or something they are not.  The result is a forced delivery that does not sound natural.

The best in the business – and not necessarily the most famous – treat their audience as if they were having a conversation in their living room.  In that sense, they are first and foremost being themselves. 

Why is this so important?  Because in good public speaking, your goal should be to communicate with your audience and that means involving them. 

There are only three reasons for speaking to a group of people:  to inform; to persuade; or, to entertain.   For the purpose of this article, I am not discussing the 3rd choice because speaking to entertain is a topic in itself.  And, while one would certainly want the speaker to be entertaining, that is not the primary reason for delivering a persuasive or an informative piece. 

Watching for your audience’s reaction to you is part of that communication.  Are they in agreement?  Are they interested?  Are they frowning or shaking their heads?  Are they smiling or laughing?  If you are unaware of their reaction to you, then you are not communicating with them.  And that could be for various reasons.  You may be reading from a script with your eyes glued to your pages or you could be speaking from memory in a rote manner.  Maybe you stare at an object on the wall or possibly you furtively glance from one person to another. 

When you involve your audience, you must make eye contact with that audience just like you do in conversation in your living room.   If you are staring at your script or the clock on the wall, you are not able to make that eye contact.   Bring your listeners into your conversation and you will then be acknowledging them.  Only then can you be aware of how they are receiving you and the information you are relaying.  

What is fascinating about making eye contact is that you will find it is actually easier than any other technique as well as more satisfying to both you and your listeners.  Another benefit is that you will discover your smilers.  Every audience has them and they bolster your confidence.

While public speaking may be man’s greatest fear, it need not be if you can approach the task from the point of view of being yourself and communicating with those who have come to hear you speak. 

Public speaking is not just a form of communication; it is a form of conversation as well.  When you can converse with your audience, you will look and sound natural.  That is being yourself in public speaking.

Copyright (c) 2009 Michael A Jones

The following public speaking tips cover the three main areas of any presentation, the introduction, the body, the conclusion. As with any skill, constant practice and a desire for never ending improvement are key to a public speaker becoming a great public speaker. Get a friend to offer honest comments on your next presentation or video it and do your own critique. It can be very rewarding.

Here are some key public speaking tips to enhance your next presentation:

Introduction

Take a moment to stand before the audience, take a deep breath, and look around you. Don’t start speaking the second you arrive at the speaker’s stand. That initial pause can make you appear poised, relaxed, confident and in control. It is also a good antidote for nerves.

Increase your volume for the first one or two sentences. You want to grab the attention of the audience right away. A commanding voice is needed to do that, not a soft, apologetic tone.

Avoid an introduction that goes on and on. You don’t want to go on and on so the audience wonders when you are going to really get to the meat of the presentation. The introduction is the funnel which directs attention to the body of the talk.

Body

The body of your presentation contains your main points, why you are taking time to speak in the first place, and why people have turned up to hear you. So be sure what you say has weight and is meaningful. This can only be done through thorough research and good preparation.

Even when speaking on a subject familiar to your audience, in the preparation stage always be on the lookout for an unusual angle, extraordinary facts, or a story or anecdote that gets the audience to view a familiar subject in a different way.

Make sure the main points of your presentation stand out by discreet repetition. You don’t want to sound like a creeking door, but carefully planned reviews can really sink the main thoughts into the mind of the audience.

A progressive summary is an excellent tool to that end. At the outset mention your main points, perhaps 1, 2 and 3. After point 1 repeat it and then say, now for point 2. After point 2 you recap points 1 and 2 and introduce point 3. After point 3 you again recap points 1, 2 and now 3. This simple exercise is a great memory aid and will help ensure your audience walks away with the main points of your presentation in their head.

Conclusion

Don’t leave this part of your presentation as an afterthought. Prepare the wording carefully, especially the last sentence, as it will be the part the audience hear last and are likely to remember.

Also think about what you want to accomplish in your conclusion. Do you want your audience to take action? Then spell out clearly what needs to be done. Do you want to touch the hearts of your audience? Then weave some emotion into your last few sentences. Having identified your goal, you can now craft concluding remarks that will really motivate your audience.

These are just a handful of public speaking tips that can greatly enhance your presentations. Make sure you clearly understand the three component parts of any speech, and then work to accomplish a specific goal with each one. Pay attention to good thought content, and also your manner of presentation.

It takes hard work to be an accomplished speaker, but by constantly searching out public speaking tips and suggestions, and taking on board the ones that particularly apply to you, you can have the great satisfaction that comes from making a meaningful presentation the audience will appreciate and remember.