"How To Destroy the Fear of Public Speaking"

If the notion of public speaking makes you quiver, shake and want to run away you are a part of the American majority.

Most every poll result and scientific research verifies that public speaking is number one on the 'what are you most afraid of' list.

I find this discovery to be quite surprising! Most Americans would rather jump from an airplane, hold a living tarantula or DIE rather than hear their footstep noise as they walk in the direction of a soapbox to simply... talk!

Fear of public speaking is no laughing matter. It stops career advancements, career changes or even the process of interviewing for a needed job.

The first step in destroying an enemy is to know your enemy.

Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers. © 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved, defines fear as:

Fear (fēr) the unpleasant emotional state consisting of psychological and psychophysiological responses to a real external threat or danger, including agitation, alertness, tension, and mobilization of the alarm reaction.

These are just a few of the many adverse reactions fear arouses.

Tiger Woods, Julia Roberts, Anthony Quinn, Bruce Willis head a long list of celebrities suffering from the fear of public speaking, but these famous people plowed through their thick fields of fear to win their battles.

These internationally-known people are no different from you. The one thing I neglected to tell you about all of the above-mentioned stars is all 4 of them suffered with severe stuttering problems. Most likely, you don't or have never dealt with this speech disorder.

In a nutshell, here's the lesson: If these people (and remember, they ARE people, not gods) can overcome their double whammies, you can eliminate the solitary fear of public speaking.

1. One must be brutally willing to do anything within the law to destroy this crippling fear. The scope and breadth of your motivation determines the amount of success.

2. Seek out professional help and FOLLOW THE PROFESSIONAL'S ADVICE! Some unorthodox methods may be suggested. You may be surprised in finding some of these "weird" suggestions may help you overcome this public speaking fear imposter.

3. "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." In other words, make speeches! I started by standing in front of my then 10-year-old daughter and a few of her friends. From there I would add one or two adults from my immediate family... you get the idea. Start with the people who will not judge you and start with a very small group. Continue this action until you deliver at least 2 speeches in front of a crowd of 50 or more. By this time, your comfort level should have progressed to a much higher number.

4. Use imagery. Picture yourself calm, poised and collected every time you are in front of a group or anytime you are speaking in public.

This is not as easy as it first seems.
This method takes a lot of practice in noticing everything about the room. You must mentally visualize and respond positively to the sounds you know will be present, looking over the masses of people, watching someone close the doors to prevent interruptions, the sounds of those doors closing, etc., etc.

If possible, check out the area on the DAY BEFORE you are scheduled, and take mental notes. Then practice being relaxed and tranquil throughout the entire upcoming sequence of events.

5. Pray.
(I am a Christian - the only religion I read and truly understand - so I won't delve into every religion known to man here.)

Remember when Jesus faced a cruel death? What did He do? He prayed... Not once or twice, but 3 times. I cannot conceive of any trauma facing me worse than crucifixion - not even public speaking, although some people swear they would rather die a horrible death than speak in public.

Use this prayer situation. It will open your eyes to realize public speaking is an opportunity for you to shine. But for whatever reason, prayer works for me. The decision to pray in earnest calms my quaking mind and my racing heart - This is my Big Secret to overcome the fear of public speaking.

Having been a glossophobiac (fear of public speaking) for many years, I know its sinister attack and the damage it does to your presentation and worse, to your self-esteem.

Like the famous people mentioned earlier, I beat glossophobia. Have hope, and faith as you mentally watch your success.

Follow one or all of the 5 tips and never, never, never give up. One day you will actually look forward to hearing the sounds your footsteps give as you walk up to the podium preparing to deliver your speech. And as you look over the audience you will get a deep breath and start. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure for me to be here."

Only now, it certainly WILL be a pleasure for you to 'be here' because you've destroyed the fear of public speaking!