Public Speaking

Phobia Of Public Speaking

Many people have a phobia of public speaking. In fact, it's a worse fear for most people than death! Literally, people would rather die than give a speech.

Of course, they do give speeches. And they don't die. But the fact is that the phobia of public speaking keeps many people from the success they deserve.

The advantage of public speaking is that it lets you address a large number of people at once. If you were to go to a networking mixer and personally speak for 10 minutes to small groups of 2-3 people, it would take you over 5 hours to share your message. But if you were to get up after dinner and deliver your minute presentation, you could reach all of those people with the same message in 10 minutes.

Additionally, when you give a public speach, you are seen as an authority on the subject. People will give your message more credibility than if you told them one on one.

However, that doesn't address how to overcome the phobia of public speaking. Here's some tips to that end.

First, try speaking in a less threatening venue. For people with a phobia of public speaking (and that includes most of us), some audiences are more comfortable than others. For instance, you may want to lead a Bible Study for a small group of people in your church. This allows you to develop your speaking skills in a supportive audience. If 8-12 adults you know are even too scary, try overcoming your phobia of public speaking by teaching Sunday School. Most adults feel some level of power over children which makes public speaking in this envrionment easier.

Next, find a group of people who you aren't familiar with to speak in front of in a structured way. Toastmasters is a club that helps people overcome their phobia of public speaking through regular speaches and feadback. Another option is to take a Speech Communications class at a local community college.

As you become to overcome your phobia of public speaking for your career purposes, you should start with friendly audiences. Your Chamber of Commerce dinner is an easier venue that a 2000 audience at a business convention. If you know most of the people you speak to, your phobia of public speaking will become less pronounced.

As you gain confidence, you can begin to address larger audiences. You may never be a Zig Zigler, but you will be able to communicate your message to the people to whom it matters.

You will probably never completely overcome your phobia of public speaking. Johnny Carson, an intensely shy man, said he had stage fright before every show. Yet every night, week after week, he faced his phobia of public speaking and enriched the lives of millions of people. You can do the same!

Article Published: Monday 17th December 2007