We have all heard that famous statistic, the one that claims the number one fear people have is public speaking, number two is death. Seinfeld had a joke about this stat, he said apparently if people are at a funeral they would rather be in the coffin than be giving the eulogy. If that statistic is accepted as fact, Seinfeld’s joke, while ridiculous sounding, would be technically correct. What is wrong with this scenario?
Would people really rather be dead than speak in public? Why? Well I am here to tell you that speaking in public is nothing to be afraid of; I do it all the time. Like most things in life, the more you speak in public, the less nervous you become when you do it. Unfortunately, most people choose to avoid giving speeches so vehemently that they will never do it enough to become comfortable with it.
So for all of those people out there who avoid speaking in public like, well, death, I am here to tell you how to breeze through any public speaking engagement and come out the other end as a hit public speaker, with as little stress as possible. >>>
From my own personal experience, from working with thousands of people face to face, and from asking my blog readers what they find hardest about presenting, I know that the fear of public speaking is a biggie.
And not everyone who suffers from the fear of public speaking has suffered a humiliating public speaking experience.
So why do so many people have a fear of public speaking?
The theory of evolutionary psychology
Read more …
Fear of public speaking strikes some people harder — and differently — than others, according to a new study.
The study shows that those who suffer most over speaking in public get more anxious, not less anxious, as their presentation gets under way. And when it’s over, instead of feeling relief, they feel even more anxious.
The study shows that those who suffer most over speaking in public get more anxious, not less anxious, as their presentation gets under way. And when it’s over, instead of feeling relief, they feel even more anxious.
Do you “feel the fear” when asked to do some public speaking? Public speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our internal plumbing to act up and turns our knees to jelly. Well, there’s no need for all of this because help is at hand. All you need to remember are your P’s and Q’s. Let’s start with the P’s
Which do you fear most? And which fear is irrational? Seems everyone has a different answer. What’s yours?
You can check out the other answers at the forum (and when you get there – tell me what you think of the spider. He looks friendly to me and I’m no spider lover!)
Public speaking is a common source of stress for everyone. Many of us would like to avoid this problem entirely, but this is hard to do. Whether we work alone or with large numbers of people, eventually we will need to speak in public to get certain tasks accomplished. And if we want to be leaders or achieve anything meaningful in our lives, we will often need to speak to groups, large and small, to be successful.
The truth about public speaking, however, is IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE STRESSFUL! If you correctly understand the hidden causes of public speaking stress, and if you keep just a few key principles in mind, speaking in public will soon become an invigorating and satisfying experience for you.
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Do you have nightmares about public speaking? When you have to stand up in front of a group does your mouth go dry? Hands shake? Stomach turn flip-flops? Feel lightheaded? Think you may pass out?
Welcome to the club. If it’s any comfort, you are not alone!
According to a well-known survey, 65% of us would rather die than speak in public. Many have tried for years to overcome their fear and given it up as hopeless. But wait! There is hope.
We can now turn to one tested method to end the fear of public speaking that has been shown to yield amazing results. It is The Lefkoe Method (TLM).
Probably the least known, but possibly the fastest way of getting rid of the fear of speaking in public, is The Lefkoe Method (TLM). TLM is based on the knowledge that our behavior is governed by what we believe to be true. Therefore, it focuses on finding the 10 or so negative beliefs that make us fear public speaking. These can be such beliefs as, Mistakes and failure are bad; If I make a mistake, I’ll be rejected; or People aren’t interested in what I have to say; etc.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of this approach is how consistently it works.
In the pursuit of confident public speaking skills, it is important to accept that nervousness may never be completely eliminated in some public speakers. This is not necessarily bad. A certain amount of nervousness can be positively channeled to enhance performance.
Nevertheless, confident public speaking does involve learning not to betray one’s nervousness through obvious body signals
Familiarize yourself with the items in the list below and either check yourself through a video playback of your next presentation or have a close friend or colleague critique your presentation by looking out for these indicators that betray a lack of confidence in public speaking.
http://mitm-la.blogspot.com/2008/07/confident-public-speaking-check-this.html
Language expert Wilfred Funk was one of the first to study highly successful men and women to determine what they have in common. What he discovered was that they all have the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Since then, many studies have shown the same thing. In fact, members of the “speaking” professions – lawyers, politicians, professional speakers, salespeople, and entertainers – are among the highest paid. There appears to be a high correlation between word power and earning power. The ability to speak, to persuade, and to keep an audience’s attention is well rewarded.
What about you? Have you been sabotaging your own success because you feel that speaking in front of a group is something you would rather die than do? If so, it is time to do yourself a favour and learn the skills that can change your life.
There seems to be hundreds of theories and opinions about nerves in relation to making a presentation. Possibly one of the more famous sayings is that it is okay to have butterflies, as long as they are flying in the same formation. Other people say presentation nerves are built-in anti-complacency buttons, ensuring that we are always on edge and performing to our best.