If you suffer from the fear of public speaking, I'm sure you feel
that there's no easy solution. That belief is unfortunate, because with
few exceptions, successful, wealthy, powerful people all have the
ability to speak persuasively.
Overcome the fear of public
speaking, and all kinds of new opportunities open up to you. You can
make powerful impressions on decision makers in the office, and on
people you meet in social settings. You can open up entirely new career
horizons, since some of the most interesting jobs involve speaking
before a group. What do a tour guide, a corporate trainer, and an actor
have in common? They've triumphed over the fear of public speaking and
learned the ability to speak comfortably in front of a crowd. Without
that skill, their career choice would have been closed to them.
The
fear of public speaking is widespread. Some believe it goes all the way
back to our primitive days, when standing out in the tribe was
generally more dangerous than keeping your head down and being
unremarkable. That's a tough choice to settle for today, with so many
opportunities. "Gee, I think I'd rather be unremarkable."
So what's the first step
to becoming a powerful public speaker? Choose. Simply decide that
you're willing to do what it takes to get there. Every hour you spend
improving your communication skills will pay off throughout your entire
life - but that initial choice to take action is yours alone.
The second step
to overcoming the fear of public speaking is to resolve to be genuinely
yourself. That sounds simple but is probably the hardest step of all.
This is tougher than it looks, because authenticity requires that you
like yourself enough to let others see who you really are. Although
there have been some successful public speakers who fake it, the ones
that live in our memories are the ones that truly speak from their
hearts. Authenticity is in high demand in this plastic age.
Now
that you've decided to be 100 percent you, and decided firmly that you
will overcome the fear of public speaking, it gets easier. The third step
in your plan is to find a good trainer who can help you overcome the
fear of public speaking and find your own true authentic voice. While
there are lots of amazing speakers in the world, the number of them who
can effectively teach the techniques for speaking with power and
authenticity are far fewer. Look for a trainer who can demonstrate
success in teaching everyday people how to speak effectively. Look for
someone who values authenticity and doesn't try to create cookie-cutter
speakers.
The key is to be yourself, and find a trainer who
supports you in that. Find a good training course, even a short
introductory one, and take it. That will be an investment you'll never
regret. Imagine the freedom that you'll feel when the fear of public
speaking no longer stifles you. Imagine knowing you'll be more
comfortable in social and business situations, when it's time to speak
out. A good introductory training course in public speaking can give you
that, and help you make great progress to remove the fear of public
speaking.
The final step? Be gentle with
yourself, but find an opportunity every day to speak to at least one
person in your own voice, with authenticity. It can be the attendant at
the gas station, the checker at the grocery store... but make sure that
every day you consciously express yourself to someone, even if it has to
be via phone. Then work your way up to two people at a time... and then
giving presentations to small groups of three or four. You'll find that
these small steps, supported by the skills you learned in your training
course, will gradually erode your fear of public speaking. When you're
ready, find a group of a half dozen who will give you a few minutes to
talk about something you're sincerely interested in, even if your topic
is the experiences you've had in getting to the point where you'll talk
to six people at a time. Toastmasters can be an excellent venue for this
type of practice.
Before you know it, small groups will be easy,
and you can move to slightly larger ones. Speak for charities, or about a
hobby or other passion you believe in. Just keep chipping away at it
with consistent but tiny baby steps, and the fear of public speaking
will be defeated - and you'll open new horizons in your life, filled
with new opportunities.
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