The fear of speaking in public is very real and many people’s
biggest anxiety. Some people stop breathing, start stuttering and sweat
excessively when they need to speak in front of other people. A fear of
speaking in public has nothing to do with incompetence. Even people in top
positions had to overcome the fear to speak in front of a large crowd of
people. Some well-known public speakers still feel butterflies just before they
step onto the stage, which is quite normal. I know somebody who never applied for
promotion because the new position entailed speaking in public. The good news
is that fear of speaking in public is only in the mind and has mainly to do
with how a person thinks about him or herself when being in that position.
The
brain is an amazing organ with unimaginable capabilities. Neuro-programming is
a powerful self-improvement technique to help you climb the corporate ladder
and to adjust your brain into thinking differently.
Fear of public speaking can be overcome with mind control to think
differently when you need to address other people. Your fear is rooted in your
own erroneous self-perception that your audience will find your speech boring
or even laugh at you. When you are a professional who need to speak often in
public and thus really need to overcome this fear, professional hypnotherapy
sessions with a psychologist can assist adjusting your thoughts. Many audio
hypnosis DVDs and other software programs are available concentrating on
reprogramming your brain for public speaking commitments. Deep breathing
exercises to calm down your nerves can also help as you tend to breathe too
shallow when feeling anxious.
These tips can assist you when you need to prepare for your next public
speaking engagement:
- It is very essential that you need to be well-prepared. No amount of reprogramming of your mind will work if you do not know the topic well. This includes anticipating questions that the audience might ask you and a professional presentation. Also creating a mind map for your presentation has proven to work well for other speakers.
- Close your eyes, listen to soft meditation music and visualise yourself speaking in front of other people. See yourself as confident, well-prepared and the audience enjoying what you have to tell them. Do this visualisation technique every day for a couple of days before your presentation.
- Think of your greatest success in life and how you felt when you achieved that. Try feeling that way when you visualize yourself speaking confidently in front of other people.
- Just before you step onto the stage, do some deep breathing exercises to calm down your nerves.
The more you speak in public, the more confident you will become.
Practice makes perfect, but it is that first step that you have to take in
overcoming this unnecessary fear that is the most important of all.
References
Mindmedia.com
Neurolinguisticprogramming.com
Counselormagazine.com
Helpguide.org