Conquering The Fear of Public Speaking
Surveys indicate almost all adults have a fear of speaking before a group of any size, so if you experience this fear you are not alone! It may be encouraging to know that "stage fright" can actually be useful adrenalin.
Nervous energy that occurs before standing in front of a group of people can make your heart race, increase your breathing rate and cause your palms to sweat. Just remember that this rush is your body’s preparation to take action. If you can hold these mental and physical responses within reason, they can actually help your speaking ability by allowing you to be more alert, think faster, and talk more fluently and with more passion, than if the stage fright rush did not occur.
Some fear is great. Fear keeps the majority of us safe and stops us from taking unnecessary risks, such as diving off 100-foot rock cliffs into a pool of water. We can remind ourselves when the fear arises that speaking to a group does not put us in any real danger. Think of mentally placing the fear in a box and setting it on a shelf until it’s needed for real danger. Most professional speakers admit that they never completely lose all of their stage fright. Most also agree that the fear is usually greatest before they speak, and decreases after they begin speaking.
The fear of public speaking is often rooted in the fact that public speaking is outside your normal comfort zone, but the more you do speak in public, the easier and more comfortable you will become. Another key to reducing fear is to prepare properly because, as the great Dale Carnegie said, "only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident."
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Surveys indicate almost all adults have a fear of speaking before a group of any size, so if you experience this fear you are not alone! It may be encouraging to know that "stage fright" can actually be useful adrenalin.
Nervous energy that occurs before standing in front of a group of people can make your heart race, increase your breathing rate and cause your palms to sweat. Just remember that this rush is your body’s preparation to take action. If you can hold these mental and physical responses within reason, they can actually help your speaking ability by allowing you to be more alert, think faster, and talk more fluently and with more passion, than if the stage fright rush did not occur.
Some fear is great. Fear keeps the majority of us safe and stops us from taking unnecessary risks, such as diving off 100-foot rock cliffs into a pool of water. We can remind ourselves when the fear arises that speaking to a group does not put us in any real danger. Think of mentally placing the fear in a box and setting it on a shelf until it’s needed for real danger. Most professional speakers admit that they never completely lose all of their stage fright. Most also agree that the fear is usually greatest before they speak, and decreases after they begin speaking.
The fear of public speaking is often rooted in the fact that public speaking is outside your normal comfort zone, but the more you do speak in public, the easier and more comfortable you will become. Another key to reducing fear is to prepare properly because, as the great Dale Carnegie said, "only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident."
