How do people get rid of the fear of public speaking?
A recent question to Meg Heyworth of Speak with Confidence was as follows,
"My mouth is dry, my heart is palpitating, and my knees are knocking. It does not help to go to pieces when I have to get up & talk at my networking meeting, what can I do?"
Meg advised that deep breathing would pull in oxygen & help the brain work to full capacity. She also suggested that it helps to stand tall, smile, & think happy thoughts.
Use the adrenalin that is the result of these feelings by placing your hand on your forehead and press gently on the bony points.
Speak with Confidence seminars will help you learn how to organise your thoughts and use words that will grab the attention of your audience this will also assist in making the process much easier.
Where does the fear come from?
Often it comes from a previous bad experience; it will defiantly arise if the speaker caught on the hop has nothing prepared. It helps to practice speaking "off the cuff" because unless they are well practiced in the art of speaking off the cuff it is impossible to gather your thoughts quickly.
The fear of speaking in public is the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time.
Flight or fight are the thoughts that come to mind subconsciously
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
Start thinking you can do things. When people believe in themselves they learn the first secret of success.
Those of us lucky enough to have felt the fear and done it anyway, know that the fear is always there. For us it no longer makes the voice dry up, the total memory loss take over, or the physical elements of blushing, stammering and dripping like a lost tap take place.
This is because we have learnt how to make the butterflies fly in formation and work for us instead of against us. Speak-with-Confidence helps anyone with the fear factor overcome their presentation problems by addressing the questions above.
Once people know why they are frightened of anything, it is then much easier to tackle the fear by eliminating the triggers that cause the fear.
This blogg is set up in order to explore the question of fear of public speaking and how to overcome it.
Additions to the blogg from those who have the fear and those who have overcome it will be a useful reference for all of those involved in the art of communication
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