Dec
22
Judith Wentzel wrote:
You know the signs, knots in your stomach, sweaty palms, clammy skin, rapid respirations…. all revolving around your having to speak before a group of people.
Perhaps it is just your office staff, or maybe you have to present a report to your co-workers.
It doesn’t matter whether the number of people you must speak before is three or 300, you still feel the same fear and anxiety.
Many of us have experienced these “jitters” or a sensation known as “butterflies” when we have had to speak in front of a group of people. Generally, our first time doing so was more than likely while we were in elementary school. Unfortunately, this fear did not stop there. It has followed us through our life. It has accompanied us throughout our entire education right into the job market. It even has an official title these days, if you will, and is more commonly known as the fear of public speaking.
For some, speaking in front of others can present a huge problem. They may experience various levels of discomfort ranging in intensity from butterflies in the stomach to full blown panic.
Thanks to a wonderful new technique known as EFT or Emotional Freedom Techniques, no one need suffer any such negative emotion such as the fear of public speaking. EFT was developed by Gary Craig, a Stanford Engineering graduate and ordained minister. It is based on the ancient practice of acupuncture however, instead of using needles to activate the acupressure meridians, they are activated using gentle pressure or tapping.
EFT is an experimental technique that has shown great results. It is beginning to be used by therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and various medical doctors around the world as part of their treatment plans. However, EFT should not be used instead of the conventional treatment you may already be receiving. If you are currently under a doctor’s care, let them know you are interested in adding EFT to your treatment regimen and get their advice before going ahead on your own.
Gary Craig understood that the cause of all negative emotions was due to a disruption in the body’s energy system. Thus, by correcting this disruption, EFT allows you to be free from fears, phobias, anxieties, self-limiting beliefs, etc., easily and painlessly.
EFT is easy to learn and can be used to treat a variety of issues. I have been using EFT on myself as well as with my coaching clients for quite some time and have yet to come across an issue that it has not worked on.
When using EFT for a specified issue such as the fear of public speaking, one of the key elements is to zero in on the emotions or feelings the person associates with this issue. For instance, they may state they have the fear of being laughed at or of losing their train of thought. By tuning into these specific emotions and addressing them one by one, the discomfort the person feels surrounding the issue of public speaking is generally greatly reduced after just a few rounds of tapping. Often these feelings are totally gone after just one session of EFT.
I am an EFT practitioner with the designation of EFT-ADV, having received my advanced certificate of completion after passing the advanced EFT examination. As an EFT practitioner, I work with my coaching clients, instructing them on how to effectively use EFT in as little as one to three sessions. If you are someone who likes to learn by themselves, Gary Craig offers the basic manual as a free download on his website at www.emofree.com. Once you learn the basic recipe, you can work on many issues for yourself. Gary’s site also offers a wealth of articles on EFT. For easy reference, I have an EFT Tapping Points guide that is available as a free download on my usinglawofattraction.com website where you can also find additional information and articles on EFT.
So, the next time you experience those “jitters” or “butterflies” why not contact an EFT coach or practitioner? It is a wonderful thing to be free from anxiety and have the choice to do a particular event or not instead of being held captive by fear, doubt or anxiety. The choice is completely up to you. As for me and my clients, we choose freedom, Emotional Freedom that is!
Wishing you the best of success, always!
Dec
10
Michael Lee wrote:
Confident public speaking is a skill that anyone can develop even though speaking in front of an audience is a frequent cause of stress for anyone. You might experience having dry throat, your hands might tremble, and your knees might shake non-stop when you speak in front of a group of people, so you might think you’re hopeless. Fear not! Confident public speaking is an individual capacity that can be perfected over time.
The fear of looking foolish in front of a crowd is what makes other people uncertain of their capabilities to speak their mind and look upbeat. To overcome this attitude, you have to confront your fear by preparing in advance to portray confident public speaking abilities.
Remember that you do not have to be perfect to sound dependable. The audience does not assume what you will be saying; rather, they expect the great ideas you will be expressing. Deliver your speech in a way that they can understand and relate to.
Don’t deliver tremendous information that will overwhelm your listeners. Only give them what are needed and what they can remember. Providing lots of insignificant information will not make up a confident public speaking impression.
State two or three main points, and use your body language to emphasize your thoughts. These very few but relevant ideas are enough to draw your audience’s attention.
Add humor to your style of public speaking and you can be assured of giving not only information, but also entertainment to your audience. Try to weigh if being humorous will make you feel more comfortable or if it will fit the speaking event.
Don’t be embarrassed to be human by sharing your own errors and imperfections. By being humble, you become more credible and you earn more respect from your audience. Being true to your crowd is a commendable act of confident public speaking.
Get your audience’s participation rather than just reading your outline from cover to cover. Visit the place where you will be giving a talk in advance, as much as possible, so you can practice your speaking skills. Be yourself in the presence of others; this is a must in confident public speaking. You’ll realize you’ll have more fun if you enjoy your time on stage.
Dec
08
Jon Mercer wrote:
It seems that at some point almost everyone experiences some anxiety about public speaking. Hypnosis can be a useful tool to help many people overcome this fear of speaking in front of an audience, and become relaxed, confident speakers.
Although there are several ways to treat a fear of public speaking, hypnosis is often one of the most successful. Hypnosis deals with the “programming” in your subconscious mind, and can affect changes on a deeper level than we are counsciously aware of. Why is this important?
Your subconscious is trying to protect you by maintaining everything in your life the way it currently is — both the good and the bad! Your subconscious doesn’t really concern itself with concepts like happiness or unhappiness. It deals with basic survival, and the way it sees it, you have survived up to now the way you are, so you shouldn’t change anything and put yourself at risk.
You can see a therapist that uses hypnosis to overcome your anxiety, or you can use a public speaking hypnosis recording. Self hypnosis, like using a pre-recorded mp3 session, can in some cases be just as useful as seeing a therapist, and you can do it in the privacy of your own home. Public speaking hypnosis mp3s are available to use over and over until you feel that you have completely overcome your fear. They are also usually a cheaper option than seeing a hypnotherapist.
As with most other types of treatment, hypnosis works best when you are able to repeat it over and over. Owning a self hypnosis session allows you to use it every day, until you have successfully “brainwashed” yourself to the point where you have overcome your mental obstacles and re-programmed your mind.
Undergoing hypnosis, whether with a therapist or using a recording, usually begins by getting really relaxed and calm, and entering a pre-hypnotic state. Once hypnotized, you are usually still both awake and alert, but your mind is more receptive to suggestions. The hypnotherapist will guide you by giving you suggestions that will help your subconscious mind to change its habitual responses and replace them with new, more beneficial ones.
You subconscious does not understand negatives, so a suggestion should not be “I am not afraid of speaking in public,” but rather something like “I feel calm and relaxed when I speak in public,” or “I enjoy speaking in public.”
Using hypnosis to treat phobias has been proven effective in many research studies, and this includes treating fear of flying, fear of spiders, social phobias as well as fear of public speaking.
The concept of ypnosis has been around for a long time, but there are many misconceptions about this technique. For one, a lot of people think you are unconscious and not aware of what goes on around you when you are hypnotized. This is not correct; under hypnosis, you might feel like you are in an altered state of mind, but you are still aware of what is going on and nothing can be done to you that you do not allow.
You can not be hypnotized against your will, and you are still in control when you are under hypnosis. If you feel insecure about what the public speaking hypnosis tape will “do to you”, listen through it without focusing on following the suggestions, or read the script before you start your self hypnosis session, just for your own peace of mind.
Dec
07
Michael Lee wrote:
Some people fear speaking in public more than they fear death. Nonetheless, mastering public speaking is an attainable task if you focus on your objectives and the benefits you will get from it. Government officials, owners of high-end companies, and bank presidents invest lots of time and money in mastering public speaking and delivering a speech more confidently to people.
The first question you should ask yourself is: Why should you master public speaking? The answer is really simple. Mastering public speaking is a primer in helping a person move up to the leadership position. It’s the key notable persons use to carry themselves and portray a leadership perception.
Remember the famous figures you admire on TV, in school, in your own office building or your community? If you notice, they act really well in front of the public. They have the charisma emphasized even more with their body language.
Mastering public speaking is not all about the words that come out of your mouth and the bright ideas you think are right. It is about going on stage and letting the listeners feel your spirit.
Notice how exceptional public speakers approach the stage - the way they play with the rising and falling tone of their voice, and the way they make eye contact with the audience. These tricks make them stand out when speaking in front of the crowd. You can get people to listen to every word you say if you know when to lower your voice into a hushed tone, and when to raise it into a shout to make your point.
In order to capture your audience’s attention, mastering public speaking is an absolute necessity. Whether you are trying to influence, inform or entertain your audience, you know you have to be speaking to a group of people in a disciplined and systematic manner. Remember that a good speaker does not only inform but also motivate the listeners to be involved.
Dec
07
Jon Mercer wrote:
Rule number one of confident public speaking is to know what you are talking about. The more you know about your subject, the easier it will be for you to feel confident speaking about it. Even the most experienced public speaker would not feel confident going up in front of an audience to hold a presentation about something he or she knew little or nothing about.
The second bit of advice I will give you is to write good notes. Even if you think you know everything by heart before you go up there, things might change when you find yourself in front of a few dozen people. Cue cards are better than written out sentences; the more words there are on your paper the harder it is to find the right ones with a quick glance. It is also easy to start reading the sentences out loud rather than talking to people. Remember there is a difference between confident public speaking and public reading. Unless you are an author who just had a book released, chances are people didn’t come to hear you read.
When you write your cue cards, make sure you write or print large, easily readable words. Use bullet points; they can take you from one train of thought to the next in a coherent way with smooth transitions. Don’t freak out if you miss a point, confident public speaking is not about delivering a perfect speech with all the points in a particular order; it’s about delivering a message in a clear and inspiring way.
Confident public speaking requires that you are comfortable giving something of yourself. Anecdotes and small personal stories can be a good way to connect with your audience, but they won’t work if you found the stories online and just memorized them before your speech. Keep it real.
Don’t worry too much about who your audience is and what they may or may not like. As long as you have something to say and keep your topic and language within what’s commonly considered decent and normal for discussion in most crowds, you will be fine. There is always the risk of upsetting someone in the audience, but confident public speaking is all about delivering your message unapologetically; your job is to deliver the speech and share the information, and not to make sure you pleased everybody in the crowd.
The third piece of advice on confident public speaking is to remember to think about your posture. A lot of us have a tendency to slump a little, and when we are insecure, this gets even worse. Stand up tall and deliver your speech with your gaze looking out on the audience and not down on you paper. Keeping a confident posture will not only help you look more confident; you will also be sending a signal to your subconscious about how confident you feel.
Confident public speaking can definitely be taught, but it isn’t about one or two specific things that you can learn and off you go. A confident public speaker incorporates all of these little tips and mixes them in with his or her own ideas to create an original style. Most of all, what makes someone good at speaking in public is practice, sharing personal comments and having a good knowledge of their subject.
Dec
05
Michael Lee wrote:
What was the last memorable presentation you attended? Was it easy for you to remember the last talk you listened to? Were there public speaking skills and techniques that you wish you could adapt during the presentation?
It’s distressing to say that a lot of presentations are easily forgotten. The talk was boring or enthusiastic, which is the reason why you have to dig down your memory for the information.
There are actually four essential techniques that you can easily master to make sure that you leave a lasting impression to your audience. These techniques, which are plain, simple, and easily learned, are effective ways to improve your public speaking skills.
• Know the purpose of your speech. One of the public speaking methods you can start to do so you can effectively reach out to your audience is to answer these questions: Why is it important for you to understand the purpose of your delivery. Who is your target audience? What do you want them to hear? How should such message be conveyed? When should you make your point or insert humor? Where is the public speaking engagement going to happen? Why should the crowd listen to you? It’s very important for you to understand what you would tell the group before they have to hear it.
• Keep your message short and concise. The speaker’s public speaking skills are not judged based on how long his or her speech is. Use plain language and remember that the shorter your message is, the more you achieve audience participation.
• Always be prepared. Do research if needed before the speaking event. Pay close attention to the changes or happenings going on, for this will give you more ideas to share and more involvement from the crowd.
• Create an unforgettable delivery by using personal examples and bringing the memories back to life. Keep your mannerisms in relation to your speech. You might never realize this, but pauses can be an effective ingredient of effective public speaking skills. Use different tones of your voice with the help of visual aids for a perky presentation on stage.
With constant practice, you’ll soon be up and ready to impress any audience with your public speaking skills.
Nov
22
Tony Hall wrote:
Recent surveys have shown that the number one fear of the majority of people is having to stand up and speak in public. If that applies to you then it’s unfortunate because I have to tell you that it is virtually certain that at some point in your life you will have to do it. It might be a Best Man’s speech at a wedding, a business presentation, or just a brief thank you speech, but it will happen.
You were not born with a fear of public speaking though! It is just that by your experiences and the things you have been told through your childhood, at school and college, and even in your work environment, that you have effectively learned to be afraid.
Well the good news is that you can just as easily “unlearn” your fear of speaking in public. You just have to learn how and the following five tips will set you off along the right path:
#1
Don’t worry about being nervous.
That sounds almost like a contradiction in terms but it does make sense. The fact is that even professional speakers get nervous it’s just that their nerves don’t show. And when you are speaking you need to understand that up to 90% of your nerves are simply not visible to your audience. So just try to make sure that any possible signs of nerves are overcome, for instance be careful what you do with your hands and don’t keep hopping from one foot to the other. Try watching other speakers to see what nerves they show and think about how they can be avoided.
#2
Control your breathing.
When you are in conversation you naturally take pauses and ensure that your breathing is regular. So do the same when you are speaking publicly - it will help you to keep calm and stop you from talking too quickly. The best speakers use pauses to very good effect.
#3
Never try to memorize your speech word for word.
It is quite acceptable to use notes and other prompts to ensure you remember the key points and that your talk flows smoothly. Always ensure though that they act only as your cues and don’t just stand there and read word for word what you have written.
#4
Always speak on subjects you know about and understand.
Do your research thoroughly. Become the expert on the topic and you will be assured that you know more than your audience. When preparing your speech, aim to gather far more information than you will actually need. Then you can edit it and end up with subject matter that really will interest your audience. That is sure to boost your self-confidence.
#5
Be positive.
Avoid asking yourself negative questions about how you will perform and thoughts about what could go wrong. Instead focus on the positive aspects like what you know about the subject, what your audience is going to get from the talk and on your own skills and knowledge that means that you are the one they want to listen to. In the days running up to your talk visualize yourself giving a confident and interesting talk that ends with a great ovation .Sense the pleasure you get and use that positive energy to ensure you have the right attitude when the time for your talk arrives.
Speaking in public with confidence is a skill, and it is one that you can learn. So follow these tips and take every opportunity you get to further develop your expertise. Take the right steps, develop the right attitude and very soon public speaking will hold no fears for you.
Mar
21
Michael Lee wrote:
Overcoming public speaking anxiety is not an easy task. Your knees shake, your hands sweat, and your heart pumps even faster than you can count; but if you have the determination to succeed on stage, overcoming public speaking anxiety is a breeze.
There are a lot of reasons why your fear is triggered when you speak in public. These are some of the reasons why overcoming public speaking anxiety can be challenging at first:
? You feel that you may commit errors in grammar or provide invalid information along the way.
? You feel the people around you are judging you wrongly.
? You feel insecure about the topic of discussion.
? You feel the audience doesn’t like you as their speaker.
? You feel the audience doesn’t understand your point.
Treat your audience as a friend by giving them the benefit of the doubt about how they feel and think about you. Instead of feeling like they don’t like you, assume that they do and you’ve taken the important first step to overcoming public speaking anxiety.
Keep your audience awake by being provocative. Ask some questions and maintain eye contact for a couple of seconds to as many people as you can inside the room. Change your voice tone when there’s a need to emphasize things.
The center stage is not the most comfortable place in the world, and public speaking has been known to top the list of fears for most people. Your body reacts to the pressure you’re going through while in front of your audience.
Don’t worry because the feeling is absolutely normal. When all that adrenalin reacts to how you feel, overcoming public speaking anxiety can become easy. You may model other successful public speakers but remember to put your own unique style in your speech delivery.
Feb
25
Dr. Sander I. Marcus wrote:
I’m a professional psychologist, a member of Rotary, a book author (on achievement motivation), a resume writer and career coach, and someone who has heard an endless number of professional and non-professional speakers for over 30 years. I’ve seen how it’s the little things that make a big difference. Here are 7 “little things” you can do that will instantly improve your public speaking dramatically.
1. TALK TWICE AS SLOW. Most speakers (even professional ones) talk too fast. Have you ever listened carefully to professional speakers on TV? They talk slower than in normal conversational speech. Slow down. Take your time. Don’t rush through individual words. Linger on them. It may feel unnatural, but just listen to a tape recording of yourself. It will undoubtedly sound a lot better.
2. TALK TWICE AS LOUD. Most speakers talk too softly. Speak up. It may seem to you that you are screaming, but (again) a tape recording will prove that it sounds fine.
3. ENUNCIATE THE CONSONANT SOUNDS CLEARLY. When we listen, we hear clearly because of the consonant sounds (the “hard” sounds - sss, t, d, p, m, and so forth), not the vowels (a, e, i, o, and u). Pay attention to those hard sounds. Make sure they are clear and distinct. Exaggerate them.
4. USE SHORT SENTENCES. You may like speaking in long, long sentences, but your audience doesn’t. Break up your ideas into short sentences. “Once idea per sentence” is as good a rule for speaking as it is for writing.
5. PAUSE OFTEN. Forget the ummmms and the aaahhhhs. Dead silence for a few seconds may seem like an eternity to you, but an audience doesn’t mind it at all. Take your time. Pausing creates interest and anticipation.
6. ORGANIZE YOUR TALK AROUND 3 TO 5 BULLET POINTS. No matter what you may think of off-the-cuff speeches and how entertaining they may be, nobody likes rambling on and on. Whatever you have to say, put it in the form of 3 to 5 bullet points. You’ll make listeners out of your audience.
7. SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST. What is the most important, the most dramatic, the most impactful thing you have to say in your talk? Figure out what it is, and PUT IT LAST. That’s the most effective way to end a talk.
Dec
03
Michael Lee wrote:
There will come a time when a person has to effectively deliver a speech in front of a group of people, so books that teach public speaking tips have become hot sellers. The rules of public speaking are as simple as A, B, C. Captivate your listeners by knowing the background and expectation of your audience before the speaking event. That’s the most important public speaking tip you have to practice before doing anything else.
Here are other public speaking tips and strategies that will help anyone become an effective public speaker:
1) Making tiny mistakes is fine, as long as you learn from them and don’t repeat them. However, it is highly recommendable to prepare well before your speech to avoid any embarrassing instances.
You are only human and you can recover from the errors you’ve made. Anyway, bouncing back from your mistakes makes your personality as a public speaker more trustworthy.
2) Bring out your sense of humor. You may tell jokes if the topic allows you to; but if you’re not good at it, better leave the jokes from your agenda behind, for there is nothing more that can aggravate a speaking disaster than a bad punch line.
3) Master the art of telling stories. Own the stories you tell by using your real personal experience to bring life to the material you are delivering. These stories make you a real human, and animation can add color to them.
4) Use technology to sustain your momentum as a speaker but not vice versa. Your power point slides, if you are using one for your presentation, should contain visual graphics and not long sentences. Speak to your crowd and not your presentation.
5) Focus on bringing the positive thoughts to your words and not on how you are doing as a speaker. Enjoying your speech helps you deliver a compelling message.
You will enjoy speaking in front of a whole bunch of people if you always practice these effective public speaking tips.