| According to 'The Book of Lists', the fear of | | | | of public speaking. |
| public speaking ranks number one in the minds | | | | |
| of the majority of people. Far above the fear | | | | The brain links the negative feelings |
| of death and disease, comes the fear of | | | | associated with that experience to other |
| standing in front of a crowd. | | | | similar experiences. Attaching emotions to |
| | | | situations is one of the primary ways that |
| Public speaking is a common source of stress. | | | | humans learn. But sometimes we get the wiring |
| Many of us would like to avoid this problem | | | | wrong. Many people suffering from fear of |
| entirely, but that is nearly impossible. | | | | public speaking believe they are alone in |
| Whatever our work eventually we will need to | | | | feeling so frightened, when in fact this fear |
| speak in public to get certain tasks | | | | is shared by millions even though nobody |
| accomplished. And if we want to be leaders or | | | | likes to talk about it. |
| achieve anything meaningful in our lives, we | | | | |
| will often have to speak to groups, large | | | | If you can adopt the following sentence: "I |
| and small, to become successful. | | | | stopped worrying about what people would |
| | | | think about me, when I realized how seldom |
| But instead of appropriate levels of | | | | people think about anyone but themselves" you |
| adrenalin and excitement to optimize our | | | | have got it made. |
| performance, we get a fear response like we | | | | |
| are being attacked by a wild animal. | | | | There is no real trick to public speaking, |
| | | | there is only confidence. And confidence is |
| Everything in our body and mind screams "run | | | | gained by practice and experience. Of course |
| away"! But we can't, we have to ignore our | | | | good preparation and relaxation techniques |
| 'fight or flight' response and stay put. And | | | | before giving a speech help but practice will |
| what's more, we are supposed to sound | | | | make you a master. |
| eloquent and informed at the same time. Not | | | | |
| an easy task. | | | | To gain experience outside those scary live |
| | | | performances in front of your peers, joining |
| The reason most people get anxious when | | | | a local Toastmasters Club is a great idea. Or |
| required to speak to a group is that they are | | | | get yourself a Public Speaking or Speech |
| afraid of looking foolish or stupid in front | | | | Coach. In both cases you will get the chance |
| of others. The fear that their lack of | | | | to practice and hone your skills in a |
| speaking skills might lower the opinion | | | | friendly environment. And you will get |
| others have of them becomes overwhelming. | | | | valuable feedback. |
| | | | |
| The fear of public speaking often results | | | | Overcoming fear by actively and consciously |
| from painful experiences during school days | | | | facing it in the least painful way has proven |
| when we failed in class and were teased by | | | | to be extremely effective - also in this all |
| the other children. Being humiliated can | | | | encompassing fear of public speaking. So go |
| destroy a person's ego and confidence for a | | | | out and speak! Finding your voice in public |
| long time and a short experience followed by | | | | will be the most freeing experience you can |
| humiliation can result in this life long fear | | | | imagine. |