How-To-Conquer-Public-Speaking-Fear

Publicspeakingisacommonsourceofstressforeveryone.Manyofuswouldliketoavoidthisproblementirely,butthisishardtodo.Whetherweworkaloneorwithlargenumbersofpeople,eventuallywewillneedtospeakinpublictogetcertaintasksaccomplished.Andifwewanttobeleadersorachieveanythingmeaningfulinourlives,wewilloftenneedtospeaktogroups,largeandsmall,tobesuccessful.Thetruthaboutpublicspeaking,however,isITDOESNOTHAVETOBESTRESSFUL!Ifyoucorrectlyunderstandthehiddencausesofpublicspeakingstress,andifyoukeepjustafewkeyprinciplesinmind,speakinginpublicwillsoonbecomeaninvigoratingandsatisfyingexperienceforyou.PurposeOfThisReportThepurposeofthisSpecialReportistohelpyouovercomethefearofpublicspeaking.Itbeginsbydiscussingtenkeyprinciplestoalwayskeepinmind.Ifyouapproachanyprobleminlifewiththerightstartingprinciples,everythingelsewillfallintoplace.Ontheotherhand,ifyoustartwiththewrongguidingprinciples,youcantryallyouwant,butthereislittlechanceyou'llimprove.ThisReportalsorevealselevenhiddencausesofpublicspeakingstress.Ihavesummarizedtheseelevencauses,alongwiththetenkeyprinciples,attheendofthisReport,soyoucaneasilyreviewthem.KeyPrinciplesPrinciple#1--SpeakinginPublicisNOTInherentlyStressfulMostofusbelievepartsoflifeareinherentlystressful.Infact,mostofushavebeentaughttobelievethatlifeasawholeisverystressful!Todealwithanytypeofstresseffectively,youfirstmustunderstandthatlifeitself,includingpublicspeaking,isNOTinherentlystressful.Thousandsofhumanbeingshavelearnedtospeakinfrontofgroupswithlittleornostressatall.Manyofthesepeoplewereinitiallyterrifiedtospeakinpublic.Theirkneeswouldshake,theirvoiceswouldtremble,theirthoughtswouldbecomejumbled...youknowtherest.Yettheylearnedtoeliminatetheirfearofpublicspeakingcompletely.Youarenomoreorlesshumanthantheyare.Iftheycanconquerthefearofpublicspeaking,socanyou!Itjusttakestherightguidingprinciples,therightunderstanding,andtherightplanofactiontomakethisgoalareality.Believeme,it'snotdifficult.I'magoodexampleofsomeonewhoconqueredthefearofpublicspeaking.AndwhileIdidn'tdoitovernight,itwasn'tdifficult.Allittookwasapproachingtheproblemintherightway.Principle#2--YouDon'thavetobeBrilliantorPerfecttoSucceedManyofushaveobservedpublicspeakersandthoughttoourselvesWow,Icouldneverbethatsmart,calm,witty,entertaining,polished...orwhatever.Well,I'vegotnewsforyou--youdon'thavetobebrilliant,witty,orperfecttosucceed.Thatisnotwhatpublicspeakingisallabout.Iknowitmaylookthatway,butit'snot.Youcanbeaverage.Youcanbebelowaverage.Youcanmakemistakes,gettongue-tied,orforgetwholesegmentsofyourtalk.Youcaneventellnojokesatallandstillbesuccessful.Italldependsonhowyou,andyouraudience,definesuccess.Believeme,youraudiencedoesn'texpectperfection.Iusedtothinkmostaudiencesdid,butIwaswrong!BeforeIdiscoveredthis,Iusedtoputincrediblepressureonmyselftodeliveraperfectperformance.Iworkedfordaystoprepareatalk.Istayedupnightsworryingaboutmakingmistakes.IspenthoursandhoursrehearsingwhatIwasgoingtosay.Andyouknowwhat?Allthisdidwasmakemeevenmoreanxious!ThemoreperfectItriedtobe,theworseIdid!Itwasallverydisheartening(nottomentionunnecessary).Theessenceofpublicspeakingisthis:giveyouraudiencesomethingofvalue.That'sallthereistoit.Ifpeopleinyouraudiencewalkawaywithsomething(anything)ofvalue,theywillconsideryouasuccess.Iftheywalkawayfeelingbetteraboutthemselves,feelingbetteraboutsomejobtheyhavetodo,theywillconsideryouasuccess.Iftheywalkawayfeelinghappyorentertained,theywillconsidertheirtimewithyouworthwhile.Evenifyoupassout,gettongue-tied,orsaysomethingstupidduringyourtalk...theywon'tcare!Aslongastheygetsomethingofvalue,theywillbethankful.Theydon'tevenneedtofeelgoodtoconsideryouasuccess.Ifyoucriticizepeople,orifyoustirthemuptoultimatelybenefitthem,theymightstillappreciateyou,eventhoughyoudidn'tmakethemfeelgoodatthetime.Principle#3--AllYouNeedisTwoorThreeMainPointsYoudon'thavetodelivermountainsoffactsordetailstogiveyouraudiencewhattheytrulywant.Manystudieshaveshownthatpeoplerememberveryfewofthefactsorinformationspeakersconvey.Whileyoumaychoosetoincludelotsoffactsandinformation,youonlyneedtomaketwoorthreemainpointstohaveyourtalkbesuccessful.Youcanevenhaveyourwholetalkbeaboutonlyonekeypoint,ifyouwish.WhenIfirstbeganspeakinginpublicduringmedicalschool(kicking,screaming,andquiveringalltheway),Iwasn'tawareofthissimpleprinciple.Iwronglybelievedthatmyaudiencewantedencyclopedicknowledgefromme,whichofcourseIdidn'thave.SoItriedtoresearchmytopicthoroughlyanddeliverasmuchworldlywisdomaspossible.Boywasthatexhausting!Itwasalsoboringformyaudiencetosufferthrough.Later,whenIbegangivingpublicseminarsonhowtocopewithstress,Ispenthourseachweektypingatwenty-pagescripttoreadfrom,soIwouldn'tforgetanyimportanttidbit.Astimewenton,Igraduallylearnedthatthisdegreeofcomplexitywasn'tneeded.Asaresult,thelengthofmydiscussionnotesgraduallydeclined.Mytwenty-pagetypedmanuscriptgavewaytoafive-pagedetailedoutline.Then,Ireplacedmyoutlinewithtenorfifteenindexcards.Eventually,Icouldconductafulltwo-hourseminarwithonlyone3X5indexcard(containingmytwoorthreekeypoints)tosupportme!AslongasIfocusedonthesetwoorthreekeypoin