Kick The Fear of Public Speaking

“I was always run by fear, so it wasn’t surprising that for years I hung onto many things in my life that were not working for me.”                                                                                                   Susan Jeffers PhD. Speaker & Author of Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway

What things are you hanging on to that are not working for you? What fears are holding you back? Is public speaking one of those fears? Are you afraid to speak up when you should be speaking out? Are you sitting in the back when you could be standing in front because you have a fear of public speaking?

Fear in itself is not a bad thing. It is a basic human emotion, and a powerful force. Programmed into your nervous system, it’s your survival mechanism and it works like instinct to alert you to danger and then, prepares you to deal with that danger. A wee bit of fear, as we navigate the unknown in our careers can keep us mentally sharp and emotionally aware, feeling empowered, able to ride over obstacles and embrace opportunities that pop up on our professional path.

There is however, a downside to fear that comes with an enormous cost. And that is, when you let fear fester inside, when you let it escalate to the point where it hampers your ability to function effectively and incorporate new skills.  No longer programmed into your nervous system as a survival mechanism, fear is now affecting your ability to survive.

The challenge, as Susan Jeffers writes in her book, is “Whenever we take a chance and enter unfamiliar territory or put ourselves into the world in a new way, we experience fear – and this keeps us from moving forward.”

Would you watch a movie, listen to music or spend time with someone you didn’t enjoy? You might do it once, but you certainly wouldn’t do it twice. Yet, many of us keep hanging on to old fears when it comes to public speaking. We give these fears free rein to chatter and natter away in our heads. While fear is a fact of life, it shouldn’t run your life.

Stop spinning the same dialogue over and over again. “You’ll make a mistake. You’ll embarrass yourself. You’ll look stupid.”  As long as you let these negatives and put-downs dance freely in your head, you will never make the commitment or put the effort or energy into mastering public speaking. The Greek philosopher and teacher, Epictetus said, “Our busy minds are forever jumping to conclusions…manufacturing and interpreting signs that aren’t there.”  While this may seem disheartening, there is an upside. The power to change these destructive tapes of debilitating self talk is right in your hands.=

To help you kick the fear of public speaking, here are five focus tips

• Make a mental shift. You must focus on what you want instead of what you don’t want. Focus your attention on the positives of public speaking.
• Focus on becoming better at public speaking, skip ‘the perfect’. There are no perfect speakers: eloquent speakers perhaps, but perfect, no. Speaking is not an all or nothing activity, but an on-going process of self-development and skill building.
• Remove the focus from ‘you’ and place it onto ‘them’. Always think of your audience and how, what you have to offer can help them.
• Tap into who you are. Focus on being yourself. People won’t really take what you have to say, until they have an understanding of who you are.
• Make a commitment to public speaking. To become an effective speaker, practice, practice, practice, and focus on feedback that is both supportive and constructive from skilled people you trust.

Keep in mind that a little bit of fear can be very helpful. When needed, it will save you from the jaws of a sabre-toothed tiger. But, don’t ever let yourself be run by fear. To paraphrase the words of Susan Jeffers, Accept fear simply as a fact of life and not as a barrier to your public speaking success.