According to surveys, some of the most common fears are of: ghosts, the existence of evil powers, cockroaches, spiders, snakes, heights, water, enclosed spaces, tunnels and bridges, needles, social rejection, failure, examinations and public speaking.
Glossophobia the scientific name for public speaking is a common source of stress for many people. Lots of us would like to avoid this problem entirely, but this is hard to do. Whether we work alone or with large numbers of people, eventually we will need to speak in public just to get things done.
In a survey the top three fears were:
Number 3 Death
Number 2 Walking into a room full of strangers
Number 1 Public Speaking.
OK so this survey was conducted in New York, and we all know the supposed neurotic nature of New Yorkers. But it is pretty well on the mark.
Presenting today is often seen a path to success, to selling opportunities, getting your message across, or being promoted. And just look at the leaders today who we remember, one thing in common, they are all good presenters, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Duncan Banatine, and many - many more. And we remember them because they present well.
And if we want to be leaders we will often need to speak to groups, large and small, to be successful.
The truth about public speaking, however, is “It Does Not Have To Be Stressful!“
If you correctly understand why we have this fear, and these are found in the hidden causes of public speaking stress. All you need to do to succeed to sis keep a few key points in mind. Then speaking in public will soon become an invigorating, rewarding and satisfying experience for you.
The 7 Keys
Key 1--Speaking in Public should not be Stressful
Look we were only born with two fears, those are fear of falling and fear of loud noise, every other fear we have had to learn. This is why most of us believe parts of life are inherently stressful and we spend time worrying about it!
So if we have learned to fear, spiders, confined spaces and public speaking, we can learn to like them. To deal with any type of stress effectively, you first must understand that life itself, including public speaking, is NOT inherently stressful.
Thousands of people have learned to speak in front of groups with little or no stress at all. Many successful people were initially terrified to speak in public.
They would experience shaking knees, their voices would tremble, their thoughts would become jumbled, they would sweat or feel uncomfortable, or they would develop a twitch. Any of these sound familiar to you? Yet they learned to eliminate their fear of public speaking completely.
The first thing you need to like speaking in public is a plan, a plan of action to make this goal a reality.
You may now be thinking “It can’t be that easy!” It is believe me. I'm a great example of someone who conquered the fear of public speaking. I experienced just about all the fears, sweats, ticks uncontrollable actions you can think of. It didn’t happen overnight, there were challenges along the way, but I did it.
Key 2—To Succeed Just be Yourself
Many of us have heard public speakers and thought "Wow, I could never be that smart, calm, witty, entertaining, polished, Well I’m hear to tell you -you can.
"Have I got news for you!”
As we grow and develop in life we accumulate thousands and thousands of memories, some good some not so good. The good ones are there to help you. And you don't have to be brilliant, witty, or perfect to succeed.
Public speaking is not about celebrities turning up with a witticism or quick after dinner speech. That’s not the norm. Oh and you can make errors, we all do I do. You can even be deadly serious and get a standing ovation. Let me tell you there is no feeling in the world like that, and you can experience it and present like a pro.
And perfection is nothing to do with it. Believe me your audiences don't expect perfection. So far that is the most important key you have learned, So lets go through it again. “Your audiences don't expect perfection.”
You can spend hours thinking about that now you know you don’t need to bother with that wasted time. There was a time when I used to put incredible pressure on myself to deliver a perfect performance. I worked for days to prepare a talk, and stayed up nights worrying about making mistakes. Blimey when I think back to all the hours and hours I spent, phew what a waste of time!
Can you guess what the outcome of all that worrying was? Anxiety! Kick back, relax and prepare in a more effective way, see Key 3 for more on that.
Take a moment and think what it is you want to achieve with your presentation? Usually you want to pass on information in a way it can be easily understood and your audience enjoys the experience. Deliver to your audience something of value. That’s it, nothing else.
Even if you dry up, pass out, get tongue-tied, or say something stupid your audience won't care! As long as they get something of value, they will be happy.
They don't even need to feel good to consider you a success. If you criticize people, or if you stir them up to ultimately benefit them, they might still appreciate you, even though you didn't make them feel good at the time.
Key 3—Preparation is vital practice is………………..
Preparation is the key to a great presentation. Not I said preparation and not practice. There is a good reason for that.Whenever I get a booking I do the same thing in the same order. I ask a series of questions
How do I get there? Can I use public transport? If the answer is yes, I will always use it, as I prefer to arrive calm and early, something that sadly cannot be guaranteed on the roads today. There is an added benefit, if I need to polish up a quote of go through my presentation I can read my notes one last time.
I then ask who the audience are and what are their expectations? All you need to know about your audience is why they are there. When you have those facts you have a great start. For example if it is an internal briefing several people may be there to learn, others may be there to skive (sad but true) and they are all there because they have been told to. A captive audience!
Or they may be members of an association and you are a guest speaker, which is so different from the previous example. Either way to deliver value you need to know what is expected.
Some presenters think about what they want to deliver, then get up and deliver. Others write a full presentation, take time and learn it parrot fashion. I’m not in favour of this method as it can lead to more pressure to master your lines. That alone can add tons of pressure and forgetting what comes next. My preference is to write out longhand what I am going to say. Then I take the main points and write them in single lines 3 or 4 of them. This way all I need to remember is which point I am on at any given time.
On the other hand, if you know your subject well, or if you've spoken about it many times before, you may only need a few minutes to get into the zone and deliver a great presentation.
To summarise: All you might need is to remind yourself of the two or three key points you want to make, along with several good examples and supporting facts and away you go.
If you are asked to speak on a topic you don’t know too well research and notes are your best help. Read what you need to and include the important points. Bulleted main points are always a great start. And don’t worry if it comes out different to how you practised, that is normal.
Go out and look for opportunities to speak on your subject. Offer to speak free or for a small fee, enough to cover your expenses. If you have something of value to tell others, keep getting in front of people and deliver it. In no time at all, you'll gain confidence. You'll also begin to respect the natural public speaker/communicator within you.
More in the next Blog, see you then.
Paul Johnstone is the founder of
The Paradigm Shakers
Providers of Thought Provoking Training
Delivered by Subject Matter Experts
http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/
©Paul Johnstone; The Paradigm Shakers
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