Glossophobia - Fear of Public Speaking

[healthadvisor]

How many times have you sat and listened to a dynamic presenter and thought enviously, that some people are just born speakers!

The truth is, effective speakers aren't born. They are developed over time, and they continue to hone their skills, learning from each and every presentation they make. Even the most polished speakers suffer a few butterflies now and then, but these seasoned presenters have learned how to channel that nervous energy into delivering a message that packs a real punch.

Although public speaking is the number one fear of most people, you don't have to panic. All speakers, even professional ones, experience some amount of fear before giving a presentation. The secret is to take that fear and make it work for you instead of against you. Fear produces nervous energy. By confronting the fear, you can convert your nervous energy into presentational energy.

Many people fear public speaking, here are most common reasons why:

1. Saying or doing something to embarrass themselves.

2. Saying or doing something that will ultimately damage their career or reputation.

3. Fear of making a fool of themselves.

4. Fear of rejection.

5. Fear that someone will question them and they won't know the answer.

As you see, every single reason above is enough to make someone nervous and to feel fear, and in a lot of cases, even panic.

There is something practical that you can do to control your fear of public speaking. You can:

1. Walk around the room of the presentation prior to the arrival of the audience, feel the room, own the room.

2. Meet and shake hands with the audience building some level of mutual friendship.

3. Take deep breaths, empty your mind on negative thoughts and visualize your successful presentation.

4. And of course you can utilize the benefits of Self-Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy to override this very common and treatable phobia.

If you have a fear of standing before people and speaking, the first thing you need to do is ask yourself why. Once you understand your fears, you can begin to overcome them.

To review, the three steps for overcoming your fears are:

1. Identify the fear. Be specific. Let?s say: "I may get fired.", "They may laugh at me.?,"I may forget.?, ?I may look like a fool???.

2. Identify the worst-case scenario. Yes I get fired because I looked like a fool.

3. Next, ask yourself, "So what?"

For most people, fear comes as a result of self-made expectations or worry. Research shows that as a minimum, 75% of the things that we worry about, or fear, never happen. Keep that in mind.

Recommendations

Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking Instant MP3 download

Other On-line Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossophobia

http://www.phobics-society.org.uk/

[gilipsie]

I can believe that one. Speakers are developed over time. I use to think that they just had it but I guess not.

[katharina]

[hummingbird42256]

I can remember when I was in school the worst horror was speaking in front of the class. I am more out spoken now as I am so much older now ,but I still do not feel comfortable speakingh in front of a crowd. I don't like having the crowds attention focused on me.

[katharina]

[10cents]

Hello

I'm terrified of speaking in front of a group. I guess good public speakers are born because if practice makes perfect, it ain't doing anything for me. I still sweat profusely and get clammy hands. Did anybody really experienced getting good with public speaking over the years until it's just as normal as breathing?

[R1986]

At the beginning of high school I was terrified by public speaking but by my senior year it was actually enjoyable to me. I didn't do it for a while in university and then the fear came back to it again and I once again hate the idea of having to do it.

The more comfortable you are with it the better you will get though. It's good to think about the worst thing that can happen which will really make you realize that it's a pretty silly fear to have. From my own experience, the more you speak or perform in front of others the more it goes from terrifying to actually enjoyable.

[brandon05]

I don't like public speaking because I hate to be the center of attention. I hate it so much that enjoying my own wedding was hard just because I don't like everyone looking or listening to me. I have always been this way.

[R1986]

I can completely understand that as well. Both of my older brothers are getting married within the next year and it sounds horrible but I'm actually dreading having to do wedding speeches because I don't want a large number of my friends and family all centered on me. Luckily a large number of free drinks are involved so that should cut the anxiety of it down quite a bit!