How To Conquer Anxiety And Your Fear Of SpeakingI will never forget it, my oldest brother who was 10 years older than me, had an incredible fear of speaking in public. He was in college and during his final semester he took a public speaking course that required him to make a public presentation. Bill had put this class off until right before graduation because of his fear of making speeches. His anxiety grew with each passing class because he would go every week and wait to be called to speak in front of the group. The stress got so bad that even after seeing an Anxiety Coach he dropped out and never graduated! After 4 years of school, he needed therapy to help him conquer his public speaking fear, and that close to graduating he still let his anxiety get the best of him. As young as I was I made sure to not repeat the same mistake that my older brother had made. I was not going to have a fear of speaking. I had very good communication skills. Now years later as a public relations professional I am called to speak in front of people quite often. I have done many public presentations and every once in a while I do find myself with a fear of speaking. Depending on my confidence level with regard to the topic at hand sometimes I need to overcome my fears. The way that I do that is to make sure that I am well rehearsed with samples of my speech and very prepared so that I can speak confidently and not have to deal with a fear of speaking. For anyone who has to give a public presentation or just speak in front of a group overcoming a fear of speaking can be an issue. For me sometimes it is just a state of mind. I actually feel that I have to overcome my fear of speaking and then I use relaxation techniques, breathing, and making sure to type up my speech so that I am prepared. I always know my topic and make sure that I am well versed on its subject matter. Visualization can be a great help when it comes to dealing with a fear of speaking. See yourself giving the talk or the speech. Visualize it all going off without a hitch. Feel good about it and know that you are capable of doing a terrific job and that no fear of speaking is going to get in your way. Whether it be for business or pleasure every once in a while we are all faced with the opportunity to do some public speaking. Not letting a fear of speaking get the best of us can sometimes be the task at hand. |