Overcome the Fear of Speaking in Public
The most effective way to overcome the fear of speaking in public is to speak in public. While the first few times may seem a bit challenging, you will discover the process to be a liberating one in the long run.
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The fear of speaking publicly is one of the most common and deepest felt fears in the general population, and yet when most people actually do it, it turns out to be not so bad.
Very few people self-combust on stage. And while some people may forget a key phrase or even and entire section of their speech, the audience is often oblivious to the fact.
And if it is something that is noticeable, the audience tends to be very forgiving. Half of them because they are glad it’s you up there and not them. They give you credit for daring to do what they are afraid of. The other half, who have experience talking are as likely to remember how scared they were when they first started out. They will tend to see themselves, and identify with you. And even if there is a boor or even two in the crowd, ignore them. Their opinion isn’t worth didly.
Good preparation is your best bet if you are exhibiting anything more that normal fear of speaking in public.
Start with your content. What is the single most important message you want your audience to take away from your presentation. That should be highlighted in you speech title, the introduction and your closing statement.
Supporting points, three to five in most shorter speeches should all be supportive of the main argument. Memorize your opening and closing, but not the main body of your speech. Fear of forgetting a line can be eliminated by not needing to memorize lines.
Instead for each of your main points, rehearse by telling you audience what you want them to know about each point. You can say it differently each time you do it. In fact, that’s a good idea as it will help you come up with different ideas as to how to say it best.
You need to be clear on why each support point is in your presentation and then explain that to your audience within the bookends of your introduction and close.
In the introduction, you tell them what your going to tell them. In the body you actually tell them, following the bullet points of your outline, and in the conclusion your tell your audience what you want them to do about it. This is called to call to action. Then you recap by telling them what you told them all over again with one final call to action.
This basic formula has helped countless people overcome their fear of speaking in public.
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