A Forever Recovery Weblog

By: Mark Goodworthy

One of the most terrifying things to do is to speak in front of a large group of people. But if you wish to be successful in your career, you should learn how to overcome your nervousness and anxiety. Public speaking is a skill that can actually be acquired by following some helpful tips.

Use Visual Aids
If you become nervous because the audience attention is focused on you, you should try using some visual aids like charts and video presentation. This way the attention is shifted away from you and you would feel less anxious.

Be Well-Prepared
One of the most important things you can do is to come to your speaking engagement well-prepared. This means that you have researched your topic and practiced the things you will be saying in front of these people. If you want you can practice with some friends so you would get honest evaluation on your speech. You should also try to get enough rest before the day of your speech so that you are alert and focused.

Try Relaxation Techniques
Before speaking, remove your nervousness through a couple of relaxing techniques such as deep breathing, stretching or meditating. Some people get relaxed by drinking a glass of water or listening to some music.

There are some people who feel extremely nervous and show signs of dizziness, nausea and sweating. This nervousness may even be translated as fear and can be removed using several treatments like psychotherapy and hypnotherapy.

Psychotherapy would usually involve counseling, which would help pinpoint the exact cause of your fear and anxiety. There maybe some events in the past which contributed the present situation. The sessions can last depending on your response to the treatment. It could take for as short as three months or as long as several years.

On the other hand, hypnotherapy is known to provide quicker results. The treatment usually involves hypnotism performed by a qualified individual. Depending on your problems with public speaking, hypnotherapy can rid you of your fears after one to five sessions and it is relatively cheaper.

By: Vincent Stevenson

Fear of public speaking surrounds us. Ask anybody how they felt that first time they had to speak in public. Perhaps it was in a presentation at work, delivering a eulogy for a friend or family member, or even worse, the dreaded best-man speech. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly natural.

The fear of public speaking is the most serious phobia known to man. In a recent survey, 90% of people said that they would rather die than stand up and make a speech in front of their family, friends and colleagues. This is a serious problem. But how have we come about this crazy statistic?

It’s easy. Who wants to make a fool on themselves. I know that when I was a child, I was of terrified visiting my aunties and uncles’ houses at the weekend, because we were expected to perform a ‘party piece’, a two minute tortuous entertainment. A song, a monologue or a little dance would do the trick.

Real fear was not performing the ‘party piece’. This is all tied up with the fear of public humiliation. As if the moment of humiliation isn’t bad enough, there’s always people close to you who can drop it into the conversation, anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

As children at home, we were always told to be quiet. Similarly, at school, shut up, be quiet, go away if you want to talk! My grandfather had a rather unpleasant saying, “If you can’t improve on the silence, then shut up!”

As a child, it was rather difficult to know how to improve on the silence, I found it all terribly confusing. But surely this was what granddad wanted, a quiet life with no interruptions from children who knew, well, nothing.

It’s not surprising that we feel less than confident when we stand up and actually want to communicate something serious. This is hardly supportive conditioning for our careers, is it?

Do any of these scenarios strike a chord with you? An amazingly high percentage of people feel exactly the same way. You’ll be glad to know that help is just an email away. If you live in the United States you’ll find a number of speakers clubs in your locality and they belong to an organisation called Toastmasters International.

If you live in the United Kingdom, there’s an organisation called the Association of Speakers Clubs. You can trust both organisations to give you incredible support and tools to become an effective speaker. It’s great fun and you’ll make some lasting friends too.