Nervousness Public Speaking

Does this sound familiar?   Feet resolutely frozen to the floor, white-knuckled hands glued to the lectern, abject fear written all over your face?  If this sounds like you, then it is time you learned how to ‘let go and let be’ in public speaking. 

When I talk about color – the life, the animation, the emotion we express in public speaking – I am talking about more than what your voice is saying.  Much of how we express ourselves is seen in our body language.  The question is:  what is your body saying when you deliver your speech or presentation?

I once had a student who stood perfectly still next to the overhead projector as she delivered her stilted presentation, nary moving a muscle aside from her lips.  I doubt she even blinked.  Her only ‘extracurricular’ movement occurred when she had to change the slides, at which point she stopped talking, maneuvered the slide, proceeded to resume her frozen stance, and then continued speaking.

This young lady received an F on that particular presentation because she did not do what she had been instructed to do.  She never moved.  She never glanced throughout the classroom.  She never acknowledged her audience.  Yes, her presentation, though flat, and emotionless, was word-for-word perfect.  She made no mistakes in that respect. 

Her lack of body movement as well as any form of expression, however, was the mistake.  If you want your audience’s attention you must speak to them by not only displaying variety in your voice but also by speaking to them with the language of your body.

If you stand at the lectern and do not move, your audience will move.  And, their movement signals their boredom with you as a speaker.  The more bored your audience, the greater the amount of movement.  Dynamic speakers keep their audience riveted; and, in doing so, are able to keep their audience on the edge of their seats.   

If you remain perfectly still, clutching the lectern in a death grip, your audience will be aware of your obvious discomfort and will focus on your discomfort and not on your message.

When it comes to your body language, if you ‘let go and let be’, you will then be able to focus on what you are saying and not on your nervousness.

I’m a professional psychologist, a member of Rotary, a book author (on achievement motivation), a resume writer and career coach, and someone who has heard an endless number of professional and non-professional speakers for over 30 years. I’ve seen how it’s the little things that make a big difference. Here are 7 “little things” you can do that will instantly improve your public speaking dramatically.

1. TALK TWICE AS SLOW. Most speakers (even professional ones) talk too fast. Have you ever listened carefully to professional speakers on TV? They talk slower than in normal conversational speech. Slow down. Take your time. Don’t rush through individual words. Linger on them. It may feel unnatural, but just listen to a tape recording of yourself. It will undoubtedly sound a lot better.

2. TALK TWICE AS LOUD. Most speakers talk too softly. Speak up. It may seem to you that you are screaming, but (again) a tape recording will prove that it sounds fine.

3. ENUNCIATE THE CONSONANT SOUNDS CLEARLY. When we listen, we hear clearly because of the consonant sounds (the “hard” sounds – sss, t, d, p, m, and so forth), not the vowels (a, e, i, o, and u). Pay attention to those hard sounds. Make sure they are clear and distinct. Exaggerate them.

4. USE SHORT SENTENCES. You may like speaking in long, long sentences, but your audience doesn’t. Break up your ideas into short sentences. “Once idea per sentence” is as good a rule for speaking as it is for writing.

5. PAUSE OFTEN. Forget the ummmms and the aaahhhhs. Dead silence for a few seconds may seem like an eternity to you, but an audience doesn’t mind it at all. Take your time. Pausing creates interest and anticipation.

6. ORGANIZE YOUR TALK AROUND 3 TO 5 BULLET POINTS. No matter what you may think of off-the-cuff speeches and how entertaining they may be, nobody likes rambling on and on. Whatever you have to say, put it in the form of 3 to 5 bullet points. You’ll make listeners out of your audience.

7. SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST. What is the most important, the most dramatic, the most impactful thing you have to say in your talk? Figure out what it is, and PUT IT LAST. That’s the most effective way to end a talk.

Preparation for public speaking is more than fact-finding or effective writing and then repeating the words by rote to your audience. Learning the more subtle skills like voice control and modulation, paper and equipment handling, posture and presentation, humor and timing, ease and confidence all require preparation.
Preparation techniques for public speaking includes practice, “real” practice, not just memorization. We’re all familiar with the adage, Practice make perfect”. But practice does not make perfect,Perfect Practice Makes Perfect.
Practice in front of a mirror 10 to 15 minutes a day, two or three times until the event. Practice speaking at the correct volume for the crowd and room size. You do not want to be overpowering or too faint to be heard.
Speak slowly and clearly. After reading a line, pause and look in the mirror, pretending you are looking at the audience, then return to your speech and repeat. To get immediate and realistic feedback, record your speech into a tape recorder and then listen critically.
You will hear where your strong points lie and the areas that need improvement. Doing that even once is worth ten silent read-throughs In the same way, one stand-up practice in front of friends and family members is worth ten read-alouds in front of a mirror. There will be nothing as helpful as practice and preparation to reduce or eliminate fear of public speaking. Practice, practice, practice.
Visualize your presentation in advance. Not only will your proficiency be increased by visualization, but so will your self confidence. Visualize yourself standing erect and proud, giving a flawless speech, the audience eager to hear every word. See yourself up on stage, fearless and powerful, connecting with your audience. Feel your pride. Hear the applause.
The fear of public speaking ranks high in the ratings of phobias. One of just many of the reasons for this is because of fear that someone in the audience may ask a difficult question after your speech, so anticipate and be ready with answers. There may of course be a question you haven’t anticipated and don’t know the answer to. Simply state, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you”. This will help eliminate your fear of ‘unanswerable questions’ and you can concentrate on your presentation.
Using these preparation techniques for public speaking will help to reduce or eliminate your stage fright. You’ve never learned how to do anything hard without practice, and speaking is the same way. Practice. You owe it to yourself and your audience.

You’re asked to go to the front of the class to discuss the angst of Proust’s literary work or to demonstrate how a pulley works. You’re confident about the topic. It’s the thought of speaking in front of the class that terrifies you, yet there’s no escape. How to survive? Here is how.You Can Do It
Learning public speaking is like an attempt to conquer Mt. Everest. It takes some spunk before you can speak to a crowd without quaking or freezing up. Well, it’s a humbling experience to accept that you’re no orator or charismatic speaker, and it takes courage to do something about it.
Eventually, after much effort at learning public speaking, you’ll be ready to take on the world. You won’t be lighting too many cigarettes with one of your Zippo lighters before a speaking engagement. Not anymore.
How to go about it? You have several options. Sign up with Toastmasters International, discreetly look around for speech tutors, or join a drama group. Or, you can purchase e-books on public speaking, which you can learn at home behind locked doors.
With persistence, you can beat the fear factor in public speaking. It may take a while, but people will soon notice that you’re becoming a confident and lively speaker. This development will be good for your class presentations and your chances for future employment, so these should be enough motivation for you.Speech Problems You Can CorrectStuttering has caused millions of people to agonize over this speech disorder. People who stutter find it difficult to get the sounds out, and they end up repeating part of a word. ‘Water’ is ‘wawawater’, and they get all red when they catch knowing smiles. But with speech therapy and the support of your family, you can get past this problem.Cluttering is the opposite of stuttering. Someone who clutters talks too fast in spurts, sounding jerky, or is simply unsure of what he or she wants to say because of the long pauses between words.Mispronunciation – People laugh or feel awkward when they hear a public speaker mispronounce words. A structured session at the speech laboratory with a speech therapist can solve the problem.Unnecessary fillers – If you count the number of times you say “uh” in your speech, you might be astounded at your propensity to dispense with speech fillers.Regional accents – You shouldn’t be ashamed of your regional accent, but sometimes the embarrassment caused is worse than the fear of catching a deadly virus.Weak voice – Finding yourself repeating a word to be heard? Blame this on a small weak voice, but vocal exercises can strengthen your vocal muscles. Having a medical professional evaluate the condition can also detect serious respiratory or other ailments.Nasal voice – You have a nasal voice if you are talking though your nose. Just pinch your nose and speak, if you have trouble releasing your voice, then you are nasal as they come.Where to Go From Here
Get a book about public speaking and join organizations like Toastmasters and Speaking Circles. Joining a speaking group is more interesting than practicing before a mirror.
You’ll meet more people and forge new friendships, learn from the experience of others, and get good advice. In the aftermath of all your struggles, you might start talking non-stop – but that is another disorder.

You might think that you are the best speaker and despite could not manage to grab the attention of the audience you ever spoke before. You might have prepared your presentation after a week long grueling effort but the impact was only 10% or so. This leaves you wondering why have you not been successful at public speeches and presentations although you possess enough knowledge and also do have the required skills. The introduction, the body part and the conclusion all have been spoken in an orderly manner but little it did to captivate the audience.

It can be said then that saying a word is one thing and how it affects the audience is another and the only thing to win over your audience. The great industry speakers often use contemporary jargons and the quotes by famous authors so as to allure the audience.  But looking back at the history of these leading speakers tell us how to avoid the common errors which often a speaker commits and how to develop the art of public speaking. No doubt, a lot of effort goes into the public speaking and the perfection is achieved after a continuous practice and systematic learning.

Often a speaker gets amazed at how the people react to the speeches made at a conference or a seminar. A listener may either nod his head in your favour or shake showing his disapproval and may even doze off if the speech or presentation is not liked by him. At times, it becomes difficult to appease the entire crowd of listeners.

By paying heed to the following common mistakes which often a speaker commits, you can win over the audience.

•Starting without saying “thank-you”: Many speakers especially who are novice commit this mistake. They start with the subject without saying thank you.  The people  like to be given importance and they feel great when they are being told “thank-you”. Contrary to this, if the speech is being delivered internally within the organization, there is no need to say this word.

•Not maintaining an eye-contact: There are speakers who are good and can influence the audience but somehow during the speech can not maintain an eye-contact with the audience. The speaker reads out the lines of entire subject from the projector screen or somehow while speaking is not able to make eye-to-eye contact. This is the biggest mistake one can commit and must be avoided at all costs.

•Taking long pauses while speaking: Many speakers take long pauses because of the reason that they miss out on words. They are not very good communicators and also do not convey the right message while speaking. The use of right words is very-very important. This can be effected by taking up breathing exercises and also practicing to speak for long. In toto, the speaker should be able to say a sentence by maintaining a continuum.

•Shaking or moving while speaking: Often speakers are seen to be moving their hands and body while speaking. The body language is an asset and this should be utilized to make the best use of your opportunity as a speaker. Be comfortable and maintain your posture by standing straight. This is especially so when you are using a podium.

•Speaking the by hearted text: Some speakers just speak those words which seem to be by hearted. Never do this as it creates a negative impression. Speak in either a conversational tone or in a such a manner that it should seem to be authentic and spoken straight from the heart. Aditionally, have your own style which should look original and also do not imitate any other speaker.

The voice-modulation is also very important and maintaining clarity in your voice will lend you credibility whenever you stand up to speak. Above all, in order to be a good speaker, you also need to be a good observer too.

For more infor visit the link:www.itvoir.com

While some academics may argue that one’s content is more important than one’s delivery, I beg to differ.

If one’s delivery is of lesser value than one’s content, why not copy the speech, pass it out, and then everyone can go home or back to work?  Assuming your audience is there to hear you speak about a topic of interest to them, is it not advisable to deliver your material in an engaging fashion?  Why not captivate your audience?  No matter how well-written your content, a boring delivery doesn’t sell. 

Given the opportunity to hear Henry Kissinger or Bill Clinton give a speech, I would sooner listen to Clinton.  Without a doubt, Kissinger’s material is going to be much more erudite than that of the former President; however, Mr. Kissinger’s style of delivery is non-existent.  His voice is dour; he speaks in a monotone; and, he has absolutely no expression. 

Having taught Public Speaking as well as Voice & Diction and Oral Interpretation, I found that, in the beginning of the course, my students tended to be stronger in their content than in their abilities to present.  I therefore spent much of the time on improving those skills.  Differing from others teaching Public Speaking, I never gave them exams on ‘book material.’  Their presentations were their exams.  Public Speaking is a practical course, much like acting or music.   Memorizing terminology, rules or theory for a test in this particular subject is of lesser value than the application and practical usage of that material.

Public speaking is exactly what it says:  speaking in public.  Your audience came to hear you talk to them.  If you are giving a speech, you will be reading it; and, if have strong delivery skills, your audience will not know that you are reading.  They will think you are talking to them.  If you are making a presentation, again you will be talking to your audience, using note cards or some form of visual aid to keep you on topic.

No matter what you intend to deliver to the public, however, ideally you want your content to be as well crafted as possible.   Remember, when we listen to others speaking, we generally regard them as experts in their field.  Thus, you must craft your presentation as well as the experts do. 

If you believe, on the other hand, that your content is more important than your delivery and your speaking skills are poor, watch your audience’s reaction.  There will be more coughing, more yawning, more talking amongst themselves, and definitely more sleepers.  Should the setting allow for it, some will even get up and leave.

Why not look at the picture differently?  Craft your content well, deliver it in a dynamic fashion and you have a win-win situation.  Both are of value; both are important. 

The great Roman orator, Cicero, said, “Without effective delivery, a speech of the highest mental capacity can be held in no esteem, while one of the moderate abilities, with this qualification, may surpass even those of the highest talent.” 

I couldn’t agree more which is why I’d still rather listen to Clinton than Kissinger!

Any public speaking training worth it’s salt will go beyond the mechanics of speaking and creating presentations and will include the business side of speaking which includes, among other things, marketing and promotion.Doing your own seminars is a terrific way to generate highly qualified leads and convert those leads from prospects into happy paying customers and clients.Once you get good at public speaking you’ll want to start doing your own seminars because you can attract a tightly-niched group of prospects.But doing your own seminars presents a major hurdle: how do you get people to show up?How do you get the word out to your target market without breaking the bank?Unfortunately, seminar marketing is not an exact science because there are a huge number of factors that affect your turnout.Your seminar attendance hinges on how you market your event, and the costs to market range anywhere from free to extremely expensive.Free seminar marketing & promotion methods include doing public speaking engagements, posting flyers, and networking.More costly seminar promotion methods include taking out advertising space in newspapers and magazines, buying mailing lists and sending out direct mail pieces, or even hiring an outsource company to handle outbound mailing and incoming registrations for your seminar.On top of that, there are many factors that influence seminar turnout – the weather, the time of day, the day of the week, and where you hold your seminar can affect your turnout.Not to mention your seminar theme, seminar title, and your promotional “sales copy”.The best approach to seminar marketing is to start out small, don’t go out and spend thousands of dollars on an advertising and direct mail campaign.Instead, mailing out a few hundred postcard invitations to a very tightly niched group each month is a very cost-effective way to test your seminars.Yes, you must market your seminar consistently every month in order to gauge results. You can’t just test by sending out one mailing and that’s a very common mistake people make.In fact, postcard mailings to a very tightly-niched target market of prospects have proven extremely effective to promote seminars.Look for ways to get a tightly-niched list of prospects. Contact your vendors or suppliers as they have a vested interest in you getting more business because you’ll ultimately be using their products and services.Once you have your list you need to design a compelling invitation that fits on a standard postcard, and you should make that invitation benefit heavy.In the U.S., use the USPS online “click to ship” feature and they’ll handle all the printing and mailing of your postcards.Send yourself one to gauge reaction and effectiveness of your mailing piece.Set your monthly budget and stick to it. Students who’ve taken my public speaking trainings are currently using this method to market and promote their seminars with terrific success, and so can you.Keep in mind you may have to alter, fine tune, and polish your campaign over time. Also remember that when you seek out public speaking training you want a well-rounded training that covers the business side of speaking. Best of success in your public speaking & seminar marketing and promotion efforts! For more pubic speaking training articles visit http://www.bestpublicspeakingtraining.com

Whenever a survey is published on biggest fears you can always guarantee that public speaking will be towards the top of the list. Itâ??s easy to why this is the case – youâ??re stood up in front of a group of your peers purveying your thoughts and ideas. The nerves and anxiety felt by many just thinking about being in this situation is enough to put them off public speaking for life. However with correct preparation public speaking can actually be very easy and create an adrenaline rush unequalled by anything else. Whether you just have one speech to deliver as a best man or matron of honour, or youâ??re a businessperson who wants to make confident presentations to enhance your position in the company then ask yourself the following questions to fully prepare for your speaking duties.Who Will The Audience Be?Before you give a presentation or a speech you should carefully consider exactly who the audience will comprise of. This includes how many people you will be speaking to and the relationship between yourself and the audience. The more you learn about your prospective audience the easier it will be to prepare your speech. What Do Your Audience Want To Hear?If youâ??ve been asked to give a presentation to upper management types then theyâ??ll want to hear a lot of stats, facts and ideas for the future. On the other hand a best manâ??s speech will be a lot more humour based with a couple of stories and is generally best kept to a short length of time so that the festivities can continue. How Long Do You Need To Speak For? Always ask how long you need to speak for. â??Just get up and say a few wordsâ? isnâ??t specific enough, push for an exact length of time. The vast majority of public speaking doesnâ??t last much more than five or ten minutes. What Should The Tone Be?Depending on who the audience are and the purpose of the speech you should be able to grasp what the tone should be. If youâ??re making a short speech at a close friendâ??s birthday party then you can afford to be a little more risqué than you could giving a eulogy at a funeral. Similarly when youâ??re giving a business presentation there are circumstances where you can be more informal than usual depending on who the audience are. Where Will You Be Speaking? Always consider where it is youâ??ll be speaking as it makes a big difference. If you have access to a laptop and a projector then you have the option to use visual aids which makes public speaking easier as you no longer have to worry about the audience visually focusing on you. If youâ??re making a wedding/party speech then thereâ??s a good chance youâ??ll have a lot of background noise to contend with. Will you have a microphone or will you just have the power of your voice? The more information you have the better. With clear guidelines you are much more likely to make a speech that stays on point and serves the purpose it was intended to.

In teaching public speaking, I find that many of my clients, as well as my students, stand at the lectern or on the podium and try to be someone or something they are not.  The result is a forced delivery that does not sound natural.

The best in the business – and not necessarily the most famous – treat their audience as if they were having a conversation in their living room.  In that sense, they are first and foremost being themselves. 

Why is this so important?  Because in good public speaking, your goal should be to communicate with your audience and that means involving them. 

There are only three reasons for speaking to a group of people:  to inform; to persuade; or, to entertain.   For the purpose of this article, I am not discussing the 3rd choice because speaking to entertain is a topic in itself.  And, while one would certainly want the speaker to be entertaining, that is not the primary reason for delivering a persuasive or an informative piece. 

Watching for your audience’s reaction to you is part of that communication.  Are they in agreement?  Are they interested?  Are they frowning or shaking their heads?  Are they smiling or laughing?  If you are unaware of their reaction to you, then you are not communicating with them.  And that could be for various reasons.  You may be reading from a script with your eyes glued to your pages or you could be speaking from memory in a rote manner.  Maybe you stare at an object on the wall or possibly you furtively glance from one person to another. 

When you involve your audience, you must make eye contact with that audience just like you do in conversation in your living room.   If you are staring at your script or the clock on the wall, you are not able to make that eye contact.   Bring your listeners into your conversation and you will then be acknowledging them.  Only then can you be aware of how they are receiving you and the information you are relaying.  

What is fascinating about making eye contact is that you will find it is actually easier than any other technique as well as more satisfying to both you and your listeners.  Another benefit is that you will discover your smilers.  Every audience has them and they bolster your confidence.

While public speaking may be man’s greatest fear, it need not be if you can approach the task from the point of view of being yourself and communicating with those who have come to hear you speak. 

Public speaking is not just a form of communication; it is a form of conversation as well.  When you can converse with your audience, you will look and sound natural.  That is being yourself in public speaking.

Public speaking is the most prevalent fear, I heard. And I believe it, because my acquaintances have this fear. However, people do not have the fear to the extent that I had. There were times where I, completely freezing at a scheduled speech, could not perform at all. But usually before this happens, I attempt to cancel the scheduled speech or not show up.
My public speaking fear began in the ninth grade of middle school. I vividly remember the turning point. I spent days preparing for a history class speech. As I sat in the history class, ready to give my speech, a friend seated next to me began teasing me. He laughed, “You look nervous.” “Are you sweating?” “You will hyperventilate while giving your speech.” “Don’t stutter and shake while standing in front of the class.” The teasing continued for some time, since others were scheduled to speak before me.
Then the teacher called my name; I walked to the front of the class. I looked at the audience, spotting my friend who was teasing me. He eyed me, smiling. Fear coldly filled me. My hands frozen, I began to breathe rapidly, concentrating difficultly. Speaking quickly, I stuttered, stumbled, and sometimes paralyzed. Time slowed; I torturously concluded my speech. The sympathetic audience did not ask me any questions during my speech conclusion. I returned to my seat in the back of the class-defeated.
Before this incident, I easily gave speeches, giving them well. But after this incident, my public speaking fear was born. I am sure that my friend who teased me never intended for this to happen. He probably thought his teasing was good-natured.
Throughout high school, I difficultly and poorly gave speeches. After every failed speech, my confidence waned. When I entered college, speeches petrified me. So whenever I enrolled in a course requiring me to give a speech, I quickly dropped the course and added a course without this requirement. By the time I graduated from college, dropped and added courses riddled my transcript.
Afterwards, I entered graduate school. I was in trouble; almost every course required me to give speeches. This panicked me. I performed poorly on the scheduled speeches that I attended. I did not attend many of them. Whenever I gave a speech, the audience gazed downwardly, attempting to ease the situation. After some time in graduate school, the mere thought of giving a speech terrorized me. My grades suffered. However, I eventually graduated.
Following graduate school, I entered the workforce. My job required me to regularly give speeches to large audiences. Unaware of this requirement, I accepted the job offer. Public speaking situations followed me wherever I went. I had to find the solution-fast. So during my spare time, I read articles and books on public speaking fear. Reading, I found the following:
1. Strong feelings of specific situations are produced by mentally connecting the feelings and situations together. For example, you, strongly fearing driving, fearfully experienced car accidents or fearfully heard about someone who experienced them. So whenever you drive a car, you fear. If you fear enough, you avoid driving. The same is true for fear and public speaking.
2. Some people are born with sensitive sympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system protects you from danger. For example, you, being chased by a wolf pack, run more energetically; because your sympathetic nervous system released large adrenaline amounts into your blood stream. This adrenaline also causes you to breathe rapidly, sweat, quiver, and shake. However, some people’s sympathetic nervous systems are easily triggered, triggered by even safe events. These people overreact to events.
3. Some people are born with brains wired for worry, fear, depression, frustration, or agitation. Brains wired this way have low levels of a calming chemical naturally produced in the brain. This chemical is called Serotonin. Serotonin calms the brain, producing feelings of relaxation and well-being. Also people born with normal brains, thinking negatively, lower their Serotonin levels. Therefore negative thinking, genetics, or both contribute to low Serotonin levels.
4. People diffident in giving speeches, being unprepared, fail at giving speeches. The better prepared you are, the more confident you are.
5. A person regularly facing a specific fear loses the specific fear.
Using the above findings, I confidently and superbly give speeches. I solved a pandemic problem, because I believed it could be solved. Indeed, every problem has a solution, no matter how difficult the problem. However, I hope that is not all you learned from my story. My story implies that we are responsible for our circumstances. My friend’s teasing did not create my public speaking fear; my thinking created it. He set the stage, but I went along with it. My story also implies that bad things are not always bad things. Sometimes bad things are good things. If I never feared public speaking, I never would have created the cure for public speaking fear. Furthermore, my story implies that if you persistently pursue a goal, you attain the goal. My goal was to attain a graduate degree. Did you notice that no matter how bad things got, I never quit? I attained my graduate degree, though difficultly.