Overcome Your Speaking Fear

The fear of speaking ranks higher than the fear of dying.

A great many people shudder at the thought of addressing an audience. The primary reason for this reaction is that people are generally afraid of looking foolish under the spotlight.

It is this concern about doing or saying something that will appear stupid that causes fear to take root before a speaking presentation is delivered.

The key to overcoming your fear is to reduce the significance of the event. Become somewhat neutral to the idea of making a mistake. In order to do that, you will have to be confident of your ability to handle any situation which arises.

Such confidence is achieved through:

1. Preparation:

· Leave nothing to chance - plan for every aspect of your presentation. From your opening, to your closing, to the jokes, quotes and stories you will use for your main content, everything needs to be pre-planned. Even potentially awkward moments, where technological failures leave gaps of silence should be considered beforehand.

· Your materials - familiarise yourself with all presentation props and any case studies or other content that you will be going over.

· Know your audience - don't wait until you are standing in front of your audience before you assess them and attempt to tailor your delivery.

· Conditions - ensure you have a good idea of the venue, stage, and facilities available to you. This knowledge can prove instrumental, and can prevent any unwanted last minute surprises.

2. Practice:

· In front of a mirror - more or less self-explanatory; a mirror allows you to see yourself as your audience will see you. This method is a great way to develop awareness of your body language and gestures, and gives you the opportunity to replace detrimental body language with more powerful alternatives.

· Record your practice - just as with the mirror exercise, this method is a great way to observe yourself from an audience perspective, and correct any ineffective gestures, words, or other components of your presentation.

· Use a friendly audience - ideally, you should aim to practice your speech in front of a person or mock audience (be it your family or friends). You will boost your confidence and gain valuable feedback which you can incorporate to perfect your presentation as much as possible, before you encounter your real audience.

3. Structure:

· Outline the speech - outline your opening, the main body of your talk, and your close. You may want to rehearse your opening and close, but be a little more flexible with the core part of your talk. That's fine, but remember that outlining will help to keep you on track with time, and prevent you from digressing from the point.

· Organise materials - take some time out to have all your materials well arranged and in order. This will avoid you making any embarrassing blunders during a live delivery.

4. Audience:

· Reduce the importance or significance - there are many strategies for doing this. The main thing is to lessen the importance of the those you are delivering to, to ensure you do not suffer stage fright.

· Connect with individuals - if you take some time to make connections with a handful of people prior to your talk, you will naturally feel more relaxed when you have to present to the full audience. It also gives you an opportunity to make eye contact with friendly faces that you have already partially become acquainted with.

5. Relax:

· Do breathing exercises - your breathing controls your heart rate. If you slow your breathing down, you will naturally feel more relaxed and comfortable. This puts you in a better state of mind to perform at your best.

· Lighten your mood - have fun, and enjoy your time speaking. If you're having fun, your audience will too.

Author of Speak For Your SUCCESS!, Anneesh Elizabeth has trained many novices in the speaking field, turning them into, confident, impressive and influential speakers. As an entrepreneur, radio presenter, and sought after personal success trainer, Anneesh has personally taken her public speaking skills from good to great, with her proven strategies and techniques. Anneesh's motto is, "The more you speak the more you get paid. The better you speak the higher the wage!" => Learn to Speak For Your SUCCESS! at: http://www.amoresuccessfulyou.co.uk

3 Mistakes You Must Avoid When Speaking In Public

Let us jump straight into this one:

Lack of preparation – this simply cannot be overstated. Preparation is all too often the difference between the amateur speaker and the pro. Make no mistake, no matter how talented a speaker you are preparation is key. I would go as far as to suggest that a failure to prepare appropriately for a speaking engagement is the number one cause behind ‘speakers fright’, tip-of-the tongue, mental blocks and other easy to observe speaking blunders. Whether you’re too lazy to properly organise yourself for a presentation or find yourself too busy to plan and practice, I put it to you that a failure to plan is a plan to fail. To avoid the mistakes that only amateurs make, here are 7 things you need to consider in your preparations:

1. What are your objectives for the presentation?

2. What content should be included or omitted?

3. How best can you relate to the audience and keep their attention?

4. How will you manage your time effectively?

5. Will visual aids enhance or weaken your presentation?

6. What questions are you audience most likely to ask?

7. What analogies, metaphors or stories can I draw from to make my presentation more interesting to listen to?

Handouts – handouts can be a great way to capture highlights of your presentation and to summarise any key information in a easy to reference way. However, it is better to consider giving handouts to your audience members at the end of your oratory. When materials are handed out while a presentation in ongoing, the focus of the audience can become broken and rather than engage your listeners, you may well lose their concentration as they browse through your handouts to get a preview of what you are about to say. This of course, can be a source of distraction. Not the best way to keep your audience tuned in to your frequency.

DON'T read from a script – this is probably the fastest way to divert the interest of your audience elsewhere. Not good. When you read word for word from a script, you disconnect from your audience and more often than not, fail to build good rapport with your listeners. In addition to this, your presentation is likely to come across as dull, which will leave your audience feeling bored and unengaged. Whether you are reading from a piece of paper or PowerPoint presentation, the same rules apply. If you must read something verbatim, keep it short and sweet then quickly move on to a more lively and dynamic presentation.

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To sign up to the Speaking Pro 6 Week Online Course and receive FREE tips and tricks to prepare you for public speaking success, visit: http://www.amoresuccessfulyou.co.uk.

7 Ways to Speak Like A Pro!

The difference between the ranked beginner and the polished public speaker is what they know, and how they apply what they know. To ensure that you remain ‘in the know’, here are 7 things that you could start doing to boost your public speaking performance.

1. Control your nerves – stage fright visits even the most seasoned public speaker from time to time, particularly when one is asked to make a presentation to a difficult or notable audience. Learn some tips on how to manage your nerves and deliver great speeches even when you feel the fear and anxiety. In my eBook, Speak For Your SUCCESS! I give some useful tools on how to keep your nerves in check.

2. Plan ahead – we all know that old Chinese adage, ‘A failure to plan is a plan to fail’. And without a doubt, this principle rings true when it comes to public speaking. When planning you need to consider: 1) What objectives you are trying to achieve? 2) What content should be included or omitted? 3) How best can you relate to the audience and keep their attention? 4) How will you manage your time effectively? 5) Will visual aids enhance or weaken your presentation? 6) What questions are you audience most likely to ask? And finally, 7) What analogies, metaphors or stories can I draw from to make my presentation more interesting to listen to?

3. Use your body – if you’ve ever been an audience member and observed a great public speaker you will likely remember that what grabbed your attention was not the mere words that the speaker presented, but the whole ‘performance’ of the speaker. The facial expressions, gestures, and voice delivery. In the same way, you need to think about your body language and how it will be received by the audience. Read a good book on body language and practice being dynamic.

4. Understand your audience – before any speaking engagement, always, always, do some background research on your audience. Where are they coming from? Are there any cultural things you need to observe? Work out what you need to do to make your audience as comfortable and engaged as possible. You may need to pitch your presentation differently to a room full of women than a room full of men, or you may need to be more formal in some cases and less so for some audiences. The more you know about your audience and adapt your presentation accordingly, the more engaged your listeners will be.

5. Be vivid when delivering the message – the most memorable speeches and presentations are those which are conveyed with flare and imagination. People want more than t here information thrown at them. People want an experience. And once you satisfy their need for quality information, above your listeners will want to be entertained. To make your public speaking more colourful, include anecdotes, metaphors, and analogies. Inserting these into your speech will help to bring your presentation to life.

6. Rehearse your presentation – once you’ve taking the time out to plan your presentation carefully, make it lively and vivid, and have researched your audience; the next and potentially the post crucial step is to practice, practice, practice! The more you rehearse you speech, the more familiar you become with what you are going to say and how best to say it. This strategy drives a knife through the heart of performance hindering nerves because familiarity breeds confidence. A sure-fire way to avoid mental block and inspire your very best delivery.

7. Manage questions – when delivering a public speech or presentation, it is always a good idea to take some thought for what kind of questions are likely to come up. What’s the point of delivering an ace presentation only to be caught off guard during a Q&A session at the end of it? A needless anticlimax, I’m sure you’ll agree. Any difficult questions can be handled with prowess if you have already anticipated them and prepared an appropriate answer beforehand. You’ll look totally in control, like a true Public Speaking Pro!

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To sign up to the Speaking Pro 6 Week Online Course and receive FREE tips and tricks to prepare you for public speaking success, visit: http://www.amoresuccessfulyou.co.uk.