Self Help Blog

Fear of Public Speaking has been rated as the #1 fear in America and has been rated in the top ten fears in “The Book of Lists”.  It’s even topped death in some surveys.  It manifests itself in many situations, and for people from all walks of life. Fear of public speaking is only one of a group of anxiety related illnesses known as social phobia but it is probably the one that affects most people.

Fear of public speaking can effect your career development, since it’s almost impossible to be successful in business without have speaking to a large group at some point.  Public speaking phobia is all too common in professional and social arenas and tackling your nerves may seem like a difficult task.

Anxiety

You can overcome the fear of public speaking, provided you develop a plan based on three basic ideas.  Accept the fact that you have a fear of public speaking; make up your mind to work with it rather than to fight it; and learn proper presentation techniques.   A good public speaking training course should address not only the basics concerns over nerves and anxiety, but will examine the reasons behind the fear, and help you with your individual needs.  Remember that it is normal to experience some degree of anxiety when engaging in public speaking and that a certain amount of arousal actually facilitates performance.  It’s perfectly normal to be nervous and feel afraid or anxious when speaking in public.

Practice

The three most important words to remember is practice, practice, and practice.  Public speaking is a learned skill, developed much like other skills, such as playing the piano or painting: over time, with practice and some guidance.  Practicing in front of your friends will help you get comfortable speaking to a group of people.  Here a few more practice tips.

Practice speaking at the correct volume for the crowd and room size.
Practice the ending just as much as you do the beginning.
Practice with any visuals you intend to use.
Practice your speech in front of a full length mirror.
Practice giving your speech to a group of stuffed animals.  Don’t laugh it works!
The more you practice your speech, the more easily the words will flow, and the less you will have to rely on your notes.

Confidence

Develop a confident and relaxed state of mind when preparing to speak.  Your audience should only see the relaxed, confident, professional you.  If you give your body the signal that you are a confident public speaker and want to improve your confidence by taking the stance of a confident presenter, your emotions and mind will follow.  As the host introduces you, the audience will see how confident you are before you even before open your mouth.  Tell yourself, “I am going to speak loudly and confidently.”  Concentrate on projecting your voice and coming across as confident and cool.

Hypnosis

Another tool which can help you is a simple public speaking phobia hypnosis cd. It works naturally to tap into your subconscious mind and increase your confidence from the inside-out.

Here is some feedback on the power of hypnosis:

Veronica Kinsbourg: I love your MP’3 they are brilliant and I love listening to them as they help me so much. The reason I would love to win your new MP’3 is that I am a 60 year old single parent with a 22 year old son in University. I want to have the courage and mindset to start my own business so I can support myself comfortably and help my son through the next two years he has left to study. Thanks for your consideration this would mean so much to me.

Andrea Springthorpe: I am just starting my own business and would really like the opportunity to have the added help of making it into a great success!!

Betty Nunes: Just got done listening to the third hypnosis album, and I love them!!! They have helped me get a clearer picture of where I want my life to go. These 2 NEW albums would be great as I run 2 home based biz. I feel they would be a great asset to both business and home life.

Eveliene Belksma Symonds: Having a young business and a 14-month-old, I need tools with maximum impact! I’ve been listening to Improve Visualization and Attract Opportunities, and I feel things are starting to take off. These two new hypnosis albums would be a HUGE asset to my trainings. I’ll certainly be ordering them!

Remember these tips the next time you have to speak before an audience and your fear of public speaking will lessen each time you repeat the process.  Don’t let the fear of public speaking stop your career path, develop the public speaking skills, practice, and become a confident public speaker today.

Jim Best is an entrepreneur, speaker, and owner of the site, BestPublicSpeaking.com.  Read more about overcoming the fear of public speaking , sales presentation techniques, and Power Point tips at www.bestpublicspeaking.com

Article Source: End Your Fear of Public Speaking Today

We would also like to recommend that you should explore the use of positive affirmations to overcome your fear of public speaking. They work by repeatedly replacing negative thoughts and internal dialogue with more positive and constructive beliefs. For example, if you repeat the phrase “I am a great public speaker” enough times, your subconscious mind will become imprinted with this thought and your confidence and comfort with public speaking will be positively influenced by this new internal thought pattern.