Overcoming Your Fears of Public Speaking

By Patricia Fripp

You’re waiting your turn to make a speech, when suddenly you realize that your stomach is doing strange things and your mind is rapidly going blank. How do you handle this critical time period?

In all of my speaking classes, students ask me how to handle public speaking nervousness, fears, jitters, anxieties – and the physical symptoms these feelings produce. There is no single answer; you must prepare by anticipating your speech mentally, logistically, and physically.

Mentally

Start by understanding that you’ll spend a lot more time  preparing than you will speaking. As a general rule, invest three hours of preparation for a half hour speech, a six to one ratio. When you’ve become a highly experienced speaker, you may be able to cut preparation time considerably in some cases, but until then, don’t skimp.

Part of your preparation will be to memorize your opening and closing — three or four sentences each. Even if you cover your key points from notes, knowing your opening and closing by heart lets you start and end fluently, connecting with your audience when you are most nervous.

Logistically

Go to the room where you’ll be speaking as early as possible so you can get comfortable in the environment. If you will be speaking from a stage, go early in the morning when no one is there and make friends with the stage.

Then, during your presentation, you can concentrate on your audience, not your environment.

Physically

A wonderful preparation technique for small meetings is to go around shaking hands and making eye contact with everybody beforehand. For larger meetings, meet and shake hands with people in the front row at least, and some of the people as they are coming in the door. Connect with them personally, so they’ll be rooting for your success. We as speakers are rarely nervous about individuals, only when faced with the thought of an audience. Once you’ve met the audience or at least some of them, they become less scary.

It’s totally natural to be nervous. Try this acting technique.

Find a private spot, and wave your hands in the air. Relax your jaw, and shake your head from side to side. Then shake your legs one at a time. Physically shake the tension out of your body.

Try not to sit down too much while you’re waiting to speak. If you’re scheduled to go one an hour into the program, try to sit in the back of the room so that you can stand up occasionally. It is hard to jump up and be dynamic when you’ve been relaxed in a chair for hour. (Comedian Robin Williams is well known for doing “jumping jacks” before going on stage to raise his energy level.) Sitting in the back also gives you easy access to the bathroom and drinking fountain. There’s nothing worse than being stuck down front and being distracted by urgent bodily sensations.

Patricia Fripp is an award-winning speaker, sales trainer, and executive speech coach who delights audiences, electrifies executives who speak, and transforms sales teams. Meetings and Conventions magazine calls Patricia “one of the country’s 10 most electrifying speakers.” For more information on her speaking schools; executive speech coaching; books, CDs, and DVDs visit: http://www.fripp.com or contact Patricia: 1-800-634-3035 PFripp@Fripp.com

Patricia Fripp offers this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint or repost this material as long as Patricia Fripp’s name and contact information is included. PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800-634-3035, http://www.fripp.com

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Becoming a Public Speaker – 5 Steps For Effectively Speaking in Public

By James R. Malinchak

Do you want to know how to speak effectively in public?

Standing in front of a crowd can be a nerve-wracking experience. Stress levels are high and the fear of failure can be an impediment to your performance. Most of us are not blessed with the natural ability in public speaking. Inexperienced public speakers are sometimes self-conscious and fearful of choking in front of the crowd. It’s an unfortunate scenario and it can be prevented with practice and preparation.

Overcoming nervousness is just a part of being an effective public speaker but there’s more to it than confidence. Although confidence is fundamental, delivery, research, and audience awareness is essential. To become effective in public speaking you must integrate these different skills and attitudes.

Here are a few tips that can help you improve your effectiveness in public speaking. These are crucial steps that make your presentations successful.

1. Research

When I say research, it does not only involve your speech’s topic. You must also research on the group you will be speaking to. You need to consider who the audience is and what they already know. Then you have to research your topic and determine what your audience wants to or needs to hear.

2. Speech drafting

In public speaking one of the most important skills to have is the ability to outline or draft speeches. Successful outlining can make your speeches clear, concise, and upbeat. Great outlines can prevent audience boredom and keep you on track. Your speeches will also be easier to follow.

Time allotted, key points, and supporting statements are the main factors in outlining your speeches. It is not uncommon for speakers, especially inexperienced ones, to lose track of time. They either make their speeches too long or too short; the former is more common. Test your drafted speech in your rehearsals.

Key points should be few so it will be easily remembered. Support it with stories, anecdotes, or quotes. Make your supporting items exciting and informative.

3. Practice and Rehearse

Any type of skill is perfected through practice. Speaking in public is no exception. Practice your speeches to test its duration and also, to get familiar with it. And once you are satisfied with your material, if possible, you should rehearse it with a dummy audience. Have your family and friends listen to your speeches first before taking it to the real thing. You can record your rehearsals so you can fine tune all possible details.

4. Be Dynamic and Confident

When on stage, never ever bore your audience. Always be dynamic and exude confidence. Show poise and enthusiasm. Movement on stage is an art. You can generate interest and excitement with your movements, subtle or not.

Hand gestures and walking around can be entertaining to watch. No one wants to listen to a stationary robot on stage. If the stage is wide, you can walk from area to area addressing different members of the audience. However, don’t distract your audience with too much movement.

5. Be Dramatic

Show a bit of emotion. Use voice inflection and emphasize statements with a bit of drama and volume.

**Attention Readers**
Want to Make $100,000 to $1,000,000 Dollars Per Year as a Professional Speaker? Learn 5 Steps for Effectively Speaking In Public or send a completely blank email to bmsoptin@aweber.com

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If your ideal customer was in a elevator with you for one minute -
could you explain the benefits of your business, your product, your offer?

Think and Grow Rich Action Step #6) Create Personal Initiative

It is better to act on a plan that is still weak than to delay acting at all.

22 Laws #6 – Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.

Wikipedia define elevator speech – An elevator pitch (or elevator speech) is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds and 100-150 words).

It is best to remove “hype” words such as “pitch” to eliminate or reduce the “pushy salesman” image

Imagine you have a chance meeting with your “ideal prospect” and are alone with them for a few minutes – and have an opportunity to briefly explain how you product or service can help them.

The Canadian Broadcasting Company created a series about Elevator Speech and has this YouTube video where they explain “The CBC’s business reality series, Dragons’ Den, is where contestants pitch their business ideas to 5 multimillionaire investors in an effort to acquire the funding they need to make their business come to life. The way to succeed is to master the “elevator pitch.” Mentor Capitalist, Sean wise explains how.”

There is a book Elevator Pitch (sic) Essentials that explains: “An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea, product, service, project, person, or other Solution and is designed to just get a conversation started.”

This book offers The Nine C’s of an Effective Elevator Pitch

The 9 are: 1. Concise 2. Clear 3. Compelling 4. Credible 5. Conceptual
6. Concrete 7. Consistent 8. Customized 9. Conversational

“The Elevator Pitch prioritizes who you are and how you work, the qualities that you are employed for, rather than what you did and where you worked, your past, which is the emphasis of a traditional CV.”

If you were in a bar – or other public place and someone asked you about your business – what would you say?

Do you have a presentation prepared – that you can share at will?

Joe Vitale describes marketing as: “Said another way, if you have something
that would truly benefit a certain group of people And you don’t tell them,
aren’t you doing them a disservice? “

“Again, marketing is basically sharing your love, your passion, your belief,
When you share it with someone who welcomes it More often than not it leads to a sale, naturally, easily and effortlessly. And that’s no BS.”

Are you comfortable with your product or service?

Do you feel uneasy telling somebody about it?

Do you feel you are giving somebody a “hard sell” when you talk about the benefits of what you offer?

If someone put a gun to your head, or God forbid to the head of someone you love and “forced” you to say good things about your product or service – would you be able to?

When you no longer have a salesman working for you – as in the union or large company and have to sell yourself – in exchange for the prosperity and freedom that provides you and your family – isn’t it worth the small effort to learn how to write and present your elevator speech?

By creating your elevator speech, you help yourself with Step #7 – your Signature Speech as well as #8, #14 and #15 – among others.

Being able to tell the world about yourself is not easy at first – but there are organization such as the Dales Carnegie course to help

They have a book “How to Gain Self-Confidence Through Public Speaking” – an elevator speech is a great way to start on the road to self-confidence

________________________________________

Do you have an elevator speech – if you have 30-60 seconds – what would tell the “perfect customer” about you and your business?

What is your elevator speech –
if your “perfect prospect”
was alone with you for 45 – 60 seconds –
what would you tell them about your business?

An effective elevator pitch generally answers questions such as:

• What the product, service, or project is.
• What it does for the buyer, investor, or sponsor (e.g. the benefits).
• Who you are and why you will be successful.

The Nine C’s of an Effective Elevator Pitch
Now that you have a high-level sense of what an elevator pitch is, and what an elevator pitch is designed to do, let me drop down a level and discuss the characteristics of an effective elevator pitch.
After working with hundreds of would-be entrepreneurs, and studying hundreds of effective and ineffective elevator pitches, I have found that an effective elevator pitch is nine things.
1. Concise
2. Clear
3. Compelling
4. Credible
5. Conceptual
6. Concrete
7. Consistent
8. Customized
9. Conversational

From Pitch Yourself by By Bill Faust & Michael Faust

This revolution in the way we sell ourselves in CV and at interview is based on the Elevator Pitch concept and has now been endorsed and recommended by over 40 of the world’s leading business schools and universities, from Kellogg to Columbia in the US, from Insead to London Business School in Europe and from Otago to Sydney in Asia-Pacific.

The Elevator Pitch prioritizes who you are and how you work, the qualities that you are employed for, rather than what you did and where you worked, your past, which is the emphasis of a traditional CV. The Elevator Pitch shifts the focus from your perspective to the employer’s perspective and from the past to the future. It’s a way of presenting yourself that makes more sense to the employer, and allows you to sell yourself more effectively. It’s a way of writing a CV and preparing for interview that will vastly increase your chances of getting the job.

Employers now are focused very much on competencies as a way of deciding who to employ. This is the book that shows you have to bring your competencies to the forefront. In a time when there are far more graduates than top class graduate jobs, standing out from the crowd is vital. This is the book to show you how. The second edition incorporates feedback from the authors’ global seminar and lecture program, meetings with careers advisors at these institutions as well as helping hundreds of people create their job winning CVs.