Get Past Fear To Speak with Confidence

Are fears of public speaking holding you back?

You’ve probably heard the expression that “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs”.

Of course, the same is true about getting others to buy into your ideas. Nothing happens if don’t share them in the first place.

And in an era when attention spans last only seconds…

…one of the best ways to gain visibility for you, your ideas or your business is to get in front of your target audiences and speak to them.

But despite the instant attraction of:
• Getting undivided attention for an extended period of time
• Acquiring more trust and recognition than via traditional advertising or fleeting online communications
• Having more people come to you to learn more about your notions after a speech than if you chase people in other ways

There’s a snag.

For many, the prospect of standing up and speaking in front of an audience is scary.

If that sounds like you, the good news is that we can fix that.

Overcome Fears of Public Speaking – Never Mind Mr. Bean

My 10 year-old daughter and her friends are big fans of Mr. Bean. They love to see the awful things he does and the pickles he gets into over and over again.

In re-watching a clip where he decides to have a bash at ignoring smaller slides and jumping off a great height into a swimming pool – it struck me that his animated reactions to his fears are an exaggerated proxy for how many people may feel when asked to make a speech.

Terror. Paralyzing dread. Nuh-uh, I’m not doing that!

Surprisingly large numbers of people react this way – with 75% of Americans and 80% of Irish people admitting to some degree of speech anxiety.

Despite all the obvious upsides, far too many adults avoid public speaking opportunities – even when they know these could make a world of a difference to getting their ideas noticed, heeded and acted upon?

Why?

The most common answers our clients share with us is that they have fears about all the things that could go wrong and the consequences (loss or face, feeling daft and the possibility of being perceived as less credible).

And when you dig a little deeper – they admit to worrying more about how they ‘may’ be judged for things they believe ‘might happen’ versus anything that has ‘actually happened’ to them before.

In essence, it’s all too easy to allow untested assumptions and fears of the unknown to create barriers to gaining visibility for potentially great ideas.

Speaking in Front of Audiences Doesn’t Have to Feel Risky

Here are 2 things you should know that will help you to worry less about how audiences ‘may’ react to you as a speaker:

#1 Your Audience Typically Doesn’t Know What You’re Going to Say Next

As long as you don’t make the mistake of giving your audience a copy of your speech before you speak, they won’t know what you’re going to say next. So, you can’t be wrong!

If you have any concerns about whether your words will come out precisely as you planned; Stop – your audience is almost never in a position to judge this and you have a great deal more latitude than you may think.

#2 Audiences Are Actually on Your Side

Even in more trying situations, you can expect 99% of audiences to will you on to do a good job. Here’s why.

Assuming they have to listen to you for 30 minutes or even an hour – you better believe that they hope (sometimes pray) that they’ll find what you say of interest. I’m sure you think the same way when you’re in an audience. So relax – you’re among friends.

And there’s more good news.