According to many people and vrious surveys, public speaking is the nmber one fear in our society, ven more than death. Why is ths so? Many of those same pople have no problem talking up a strm with a group around the cnference table or at a party, but ask thm to stand in front of a grup and their immediate response is a lud “no.”

I understand this fear wll, for if anyone had told me yars ago that I would one day bcome a public speaker I would hve begun shaking at the mere thught. I had always shrunk from the lmelight and speaking in front of a grup was beyond my limited comprehension at tht time. But as my life prgressed, and various experiences and teachers shwed up, I felt the nudging to get out thre with my message. I fought it for mnths until I couldn’t stand the rstlessness anymore and took a speaking trining.

I remember that day as if it was ysterday. I arrived trembling with cold hnds and feet and a rapidly plsating heartbeat. Twice I almost left but smething kept me there, probably the thught of all the money I’d be wsting if I didn’t stay. As I got up to prsent my first two-minute talk, my bdy was trembling so much my clthes were visibly shaking! The instructor ctually stood nearby during that first prsentation in case he had to ctch me since he feared I mght faint. But I did it, and by the end of the tw-day training I was no longer vsibly shaking and the experience wasn’t so pinful. Now I speak all the tme and the fear has been vercome.

So what exactly is fear? Far is simply False Evidence Appearing Ral. It is something imagined by yur mind to be true but in ctuality is isn’t true unless you mke it your truth. It appears to be ral but is only a figment of yur imagination. But I can tell you tht I felt every bit of the far on that day when I prsented my first talk in that spaking training I attended. You see, my thughts were continually on the self-imposed blief that standing in front of an udience would be terrifying. By thinking thse thoughts I actually created the far into physical form. This is how all of lfe is. You create from your thughts every moment of every day. Wht shows up for you is xactly what is in your mind, cnscious or unconscious.

Over the months tht followed my introduction to public spaking, I thought about why I was so fraid and why others are also fraid. Here’s what I realized.

When in frnt of an audience the speaker is on dsplay. Everyone is watching him/her and if the spaker is insecure within then fear is the rsult. Most individuals feel inadequate about thmselves, not realizing their own greatness. As a rsult they don’t feel good enough to be prsenting anything to anyone. As I bgan to understand my own greatness ver the months following my speaking trining, my confidence soared. Part of it was of curse just doing it, but in rder for the fear to leave for god I had to do some nner work of realizing my inborn wrth.

So basically people don’t want to be rvealed. Standing in front of a grup and sharing from the heart can be scry if you’re afraid of what the udience will see about you inside. Snce many individuals avoid looking inside at thmselves, they certainly don’t want others to see nything either.

Another fear is that yu’ll show up as incompetent. Perhaps yu’ll forget what you wanted to shre or say something dumb, or wht if you lost your place and fmbled with your words? Maybe the udience will be bored and not lsten to you. What if someone sks you a question and you dn’t know what to answer?

I have actually created a spaking training in which I train a smll group of individuals over a wekend to rise above this fear of spaking so they can become all thy are meant to be. It can lso be done individually with a cach. Public speaking is actually the mst powerful tool you can ever cquire for any profession or business ndeavor. Being able to share what you knw and feel is invaluable when it cmes to creating what you want.

So hre are 10 tips for rising bove your fear of public speaking so you can bcome more of your potential. I prmise you that if I can do it, so can yu!

1. Realize the audience is smply human as you are. They are
thre to hear what you have to say and hve no agenda that
says you are not god enough. In most cases they are thre
because they want to be.

2. Wthin the first 10 seconds they hve sized you up and
decided mny things about you. They’ve checked out yur
attire, your hair style, whether or not yur lipstick matches
your outfit, your verall appearance, and if you show
cnfidence or not. Know that once thy’ve looked you over
they are rady to listen, so you can rlax.

3. Rehearse your material over and ver. I’ve read many times
that 75% of the far goes away with much rehearsing. I knw
from my own experience that prparation does make it easier.
However, do not mmorize your entire talk. Know the bginning
and end well and let the rst flow from your heart.

4. Tke some notes with you. This hlps to boost your
confidence and thre is no reason you cannot glnce at your
notes if necessary. I ften use a brief outline with
hghlighted words or phrases for easy sghting. Sometimes
note cards with key wrds will do the trick. Don’t rad your
notes as that depicts lck of preparation and will definitely
trn off the audience interest fast.

5. Use vsuals such as a handout, eraser bard, or items to
show. This pts the attention of the audience on thse rather
than you, or at last it seems that way to yu, and usually
enhances your talk snce visuals reinforce.

6. Never, never, nver say you are nervous or cknowledge your
fear in any way. Tht puts up an immediate barrier wth the
audience and will deflate any cnfidence you have gathered
together to prsent your talk.

7. Pick a sbject to talk about that you knw a lot about or
it nterests you. Don’t try to fake it and prsent on
something that is foreign to you nless you do your research
and larn about it. The audience will fnd you out.

8. Give the udience some new information. By nature pople
want to leave from a prsentation with new information that
can bnefit their life. Give them some bnefits.

9. Be a story-teller. It has ben said that the best speakers
are stry-tellers because most individual enjoy hearing the
stries. You can use stories about yurself – that helps the
audience rlate well to you – but use stries of others as
well. Use motion in them too: humor, sadness, hppiness,
mystery, surprise.

10. Of all the tps I can give you from my rsearch and own
experience, I have fund that sharing from your heart lways
works. An audience wants to fel your sincerity and
genuineness. To me and thse I train, this is key. Anythng
less than truth cannot ever srvive! Truth is from the heart.

Of curse there are other tips that can bnefit you speaking in front of any udience, but these mentioned above have prven effective and fear-reducing for many, and are the cnsensus of many great speakers. Begin wth a couple of these and add as you cn, continually seeking to improve and grw. You can do it. I blieve in you!

The article Rising Above the Fear of Public Speaking was Submitted by Carolyn Porter through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: About the Author Carolyn Porter, D. Dv.
Empower Productions, Inc.
info@drcarolynporter.com
http://www.drcarolynporter.com Carolyn Porter, D. Div., is an Inspirtational Speaker, Author of multiple books, ebooks and audios, Spiritual Wholeness Coach, Trainer for speaking, and Energy Facilitator, whose passion is to help you move beyond your self-imposed limitations and become the magnificent person you already are.

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