Public
Speaking Fear Cures - What Really Works to Conquer
Fear of Public Speaking?
Public Speaking Fear Cures - What Really Works
to Conquer Fear of Public Speaking?
When
it comes to public speaking fear, there's no shortage
of that going around.
And
when it comes to public speaking fear cures, there's
no shortage of advice out there.
This
article is going to separate what works and what
doesn't so you don't waste your time (or money!)
on public speaking fear cures that simply don't
work.
Public
Speaking Fear Cure #1:
"Be
prepared". Of all the "traditional" advice you
see out there, this is the only good advice.
Understand:
being prepared does not eradicate public speaking
fear, it just reduces anxiety you might have felt
if you were unsure of your material or topic.
Public
Speaking Fear Cure #2:
"Breathe
deeply". This is "traditional advice" everyone
parrots over and over and it's completely useless.
It's
awful advice because you can't breathe deeply
when you're speaking.
Breathing
deeply before you begin is fine, but really is
minimally helpful if at all.
Public
Speaking Fear Cure #3:
"Picture
your audience naked". Like most traditional advice,
this is well intentioned, but this oft-repeated
advice is also worthless.
The
idea is that you'll take your mind off of your
nervousness and laugh a little, but in most cases
you'll be focusing on your talk, not on their
underwear.
Public
Speaking Fear Cure #4:
"Defocus
your eyes". This is excellent advice and is easy
to learn to do.
Easier
to do than explain, look at the one minute training
video on this here - Instant
Public Speaking Fear Cure:
Public
Speaking Fear Cure #5:
"Role
Modeling": Superb and easy way to not only cure
public speaking fear, but also to instantly improve
your presentation skills.
Role
modeling is not being a "copy cat", it's simply
emulation. I've written extensively on this topic
and you can view those articles at my article
site Best
Public Speaking Training.
Public
Speaking Fear Cure #6:
"Meet
and Greet Beforehand". It's been said that "strangers
are just friends you haven't met yet" and this
is really true.
Meeting
and greeting and talking with audience members
ahead of time is great advice.
Be
genuinely curious and interested in people, make
friends.
Then
when you speak, speak to "your new friends".
This
works very, very well if you have the opportunity
to meet and greet ahead of your talk.
Public
Speaking Fear Cure #7:
"Turn
Nervousness Into Excitement". Sometimes called
"make your butterflies fly in formation" this
is actually bad advice because nervous energy
is nervous energy and when you amplify that pretending
to be excited, you exude "jagged energy" and people
pick up on that and don't like it. It rubs them
the wrong way.
Summary:
Don't
just swallow any advice on public speaking cures
because too many "experts" just parrot what they've
heard others say.
Finally,
whatever you do, don't give up just because one
or two techniques did not work for you.
Keep
going and you will conquer public speaking fear.
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