Reduce public speaking fear

Do you get nervous at the thought of public speaking? Statistically, public speaking is one of the last activities most people want to do.

Here are three tips that have helped me reduce my fear of public speaking.

Tip #1: Understand why you fear public speaking

All of these can be easily overcome with some training and practice.

Tip #2: Spend time speaking

Were you nervous the first few times you drove a car? Are you still nervous? Practice and experience will help you overcome public speaking jitters and nervous. Take opportunities, join Toastmasters, and spend time speaking.

You’ll gain new confidence and overcome your fear of public speaking.

Tip #3:Research and learn how the pro’s overcame their public speaking fear.

96%+ of speakers have had to learn how to overcome their public speaking fear. By learning public speaking fear conquering techniques you can slash your learning curve and gain confidence quickly.

One powerful technique is to simply act confident. When you act confident, you will look and feel confident. Every great speaker does this. As they act confident new confidence will replace the nervousness.

Don’t let public speaking fear handcuff you, use these tips and become a confident speaker.

(C) Arlen Busenitz – Speakinginfo.com

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

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It’s your turn to talk, but suddenly your mouth has no saliva. Your tongue feels like a piece of wood in your mouth and its very tough to talk clearly. You are experienced symptoms of a dry mouth.

What Causes a Dry Mouth?

Generally, a dry mouth is caused by either a medical/physical condition or is a symptom of stage fright, social anxiety or fear of public speaking. Check with your doctor if you believe you have a medical or physical condition.

 If you only get a dry mouth when you are about to speak, likely its caused by speaking nervousness or anxiety. Suddenly we find our saliva glands are not working and our mouth feels dry.

Every speaker has gone through it at times. Experienced speakers know how to prevent a dry mouth and often use many of these 9 dry mouth tips.

Tip #1: Stay Re-hydrated 24 hrs before you have to speak.

Experts recommend drinking 8-12 glasses of water a day. If you are speaking at 4:00 on Tuesday, you want to make sure you are drinking plenty of water for 24 hrs prior to this time.

A voice coach told me that this is critical to keep your voice cords lubricated. Drinking during your speech is not good enough. You must be drinking leading up to the speech.

#2: Sip water before and during your speech.

Advanced speakers and musicians are constantly sipping water during the presentation. This is for their vocal cords, but also helps with a dry mouth. Have a bottle or glass of water handy during your speech.

Consider using the restroom minutes before you speak, so you don’t have an urge to go during the presentation.

#3: Prepare your presentation or talk well.

Good preparation can help you overcome public speaking fear and anxiety by 80%. If you are meeting your boss or another VIP, spend a large amount of time preparing. Know your speech well. Role play the meeting. Do this and you’ll have less speaking anxiety

#4: Visualize biting into a lemon.

Your 60 seconds away from starting your presentation and your moth is dryer than the Nevada Desert. No water in sight. What do you do? Visualize biting into a lemon. Think about a nice juicy lemon and mentally take a bite. Feel the sourness and juices. You’ll saliva glands will open up and the saliva will flow.

A dry mouth caused by speaking anxiety is pretty common. Use these  4 dry mouth tips and you’ll be able to speak with confidence.  In part 2 of you’ll learn 5 more dry mouth Solutions.
 

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website

I was suffering from public speaking embarrassment. For 20 minutes I had walked around the room greeting people. I smiled, made small talk, and burned off some nervous energy.

Seven minutes before Showtime, I was slammed with an embarrassing realization.

My zipper was wide open. Have you been there? My mind raced back to the ten plus people I had talked to. How many had noticed? Why had no one said anything? Friends don’t let friends walk around with unknown wardrobe malfunctions!

If I had gone on stage with the blinds open, that could have been embarrassing. Thankfully, I caught it before I went up on stage. However, as speakers it’s very important to check our zippers, our buttons, and anything else that could be a distraction.

Not only will a wardrobe malfunction distract the audience but it can throw us off once we realize it. Every speaker has to recover from this, so don’t feel too bad.

What’s the solution? Do a full body mirror check before you walk into the room. Is your hair fine? Food on the face?

Next, as you are waiting your turn to speak make sure your zipper and buttons are OK. Tuck the shirt in. Consciously do this, so you don’t have to do this on stage. It is hard to speak and be checking your wardrobe at the same time.  

What if you are speaking and notice something is wrong? If you can discreetly fix it, do so. If the audience is well aware of it, make a joke out and keep on going. You could say, “My worst nightmare has come true. (pause for laughter)” Fix the problem and try and work it into your content.

Don’t be caught with your zipper down. Check your wardrobe before you go on stage and you’ll prevent public speaking embarrassment.

(C) Arlen Busenitz – Speakinginfo.com

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

More Posts - Website