Overcoming Public Speaking Fear by Changing Your Thinking
Public speaking is one of the most feared things with many people reporting it more frightening than death. How can you get started in overcoming public speaking fear if you start to get nervous at the thought of giving a speech?
In this day and age, effective verbal speaking is absolutely essential for success in most careers. Most professionals and students will, at some point, be asked to make a presentation to clients or colleagues.
Put Your Public Speaking Anxiety to an End
Put Your Public Speaking Anxiety to an End
Having a fear of public speaking can cause you to be less effective at delivering your message, or worse, cause you to avoid situations where you may be asked to give a presentation to an audience. It can prevent you from advancing in your career or receiving the grades that you deserve in school.
The first step in overcoming public speaking fear is to change your perspective. Often times, if you are afraid of public speaking you will find that you have goals such as “I must overcome my public speaking fear.” The problem with this is that it implies a belief that you need to change and that the person you already are is not adequate.
Instead of focusing on the negative, that is to say, what you are trying to avoid, try focusing on something more positive. You might try changing “I want to overcome this fear of public speaking” into something like “I want to be a relaxed and effective speaker.” Once you’ve pinpointed exactly what you want your goal to be, jot it down on a piece of paper. Say the statement to yourself in the days leading up to your speech and visualize how you will feel when you step into that goal and what it would be like to achieve it.
By focusing on overcoming fear of public speaking, you will in effect be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. You see, what you focus on, you will bring into your life whether that be “public speaking fear” or “relaxed and effective speaker.”
The fear you feel when you think about public speaking is all in your mind. The more you mull over the fear, even if it’s in the context of overcoming it, the more you will build it up in your mind. By focusing instead on what you do want, you can begin to shift your energy away from fear and toward confident speaking.
Also, if you feel so inclined, I recommend that you consider joining Toastmasters, an organization with branches all over the world and in most major cities. Toastmasters is a great place to go to practice public speaking and get constructive feedback on how you can improve your presentation skills.
I hope this article has given you a good foundation in overcoming public speaking fears. Remember, it all starts with taking your focus off of what you want to avoid and shifting it toward your desired outcome. Good luck on your next speech!
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