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How to cure fear of public speaking... Chris BarnettAre you afraid of speaking in public? It’s remarkable just how many people want to know how to cure fear of public speaking forever! While there are many suggested ways of reducing the stress of the moment when you appear in front of your audience it’s my experience that there is only one sure-fire way to even begin to cure the fear of public speaking forever. Why are you afraid? Essentially most nervous speakers are worried that they are going to make a fool of themselves in front of an audience, they also believe that the audience are baying for their blood and just waiting for them to make a mistake. I’m an accomplished speaker with Toastmasters International, and in my experience I’ve found that nothing could be further from the truth. Your audience simply want to be entertained… by YOU! Your audience don’t want to be bored, your audience actually WANT you to do well, they want to be utterly captivated by YOUR speech. Understand this first point well and you are well on your way to knowing how to cure fear of public speaking forever. Reduce the tension. There are two moments in any speech that generally cause more stress than anything else: 1) Ace your opening line. There’s a simple tactic to make absolutely sure this goes really well, but it’s not something I recommend for the main body of your speech. It’s simply this, learn your introduction off-by-heart, practice it until you can repeat it in your sleep. 2) Tell a story. Every speaker has experienced this at some point. It’s usually caused by one simple error that’s just so easy to make. Inexperienced speakers will often try to learn their entire speech off-by-heart, it’s a BIG mistake! At some point you will forget your next line and the ensuing silence is devastating to your confidence. I suggest instead that you break the main body of your speech into a few sections and give each of these sections a summary title. These titles become your waypoints in the speech, use them as your speech notes too. The next step is to create a story to wraps around around these waypoints, it's much easier to tell a story than to remember a whole load of written content. This tactic results in a fluid speech that makes you look and feel really confident! These simple tactics will arm you well in your overall strategy to find how to cure fear of public speaking forever. There’s only one way! In my experience as a Toastmaster I’ve found that there’s only one way to actually find out how to cure the fear of public speaking. The tactics I’ve mentioned so far will help you reduce the effect of stressful moments but that isn’t actually going to cure fear of public speaking is it? The answer is suprisingly simple… Get up in front of an audience and speak… Your close family will do. Then do it again… Maybe your friends and family this time. You get the picture don’t you? I can heartily recommend that you join a Toastmasters International affiliated speaking club. The whole purpose of these clubs is to help YOU to cure fear of public speaking forever by creating a mutually supportive environment in which you can practice. So… you wanted to know how to cure fear of public speaking forever? The answer is simple, stand up, take a deep breath and make yourself heard, before you know it you’ll be doing it with ease! Have fun, be all that you can be! Chris Barnett, September 2007. |
In 1984 a New York Times Survey on Social Anxiety placed death third in the list of people's biggest fears. The top two responses were walking into a room full of strangers and speaking in public. In '...and Death Came Third!', Andy Lopata and Peter Roper share their wealth of experience and insider secrets on networking and public speaking, giving you the tips, tools and techniques you need to overcome your fears and make the most of the opportunities that come your way. |
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Go to the X10D home page. http://www.x10dit.net See other businesses recommended by X10D. http://www.x10dit.net/associates Other articles by Christopher Barnett. http://www.x10dit.net/linkstoarticles.html How to cure your fear of public speaking. http://www.christopherbarnett.co.uk/articles/fearofspeaking.html Great deals on excellent e-books.... http://www.x10dit.net/bookshaker/index.html Property investment guides for the UK and Europe.... http://www.x10dit.net/propertyinvestment/index.html |
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