How to Conquer Public Speaking FearI. Public speaking is a comm

How to Conquer Public Speaking Fear
    Public speaking is a common source of stress for everyone. Many of us would like to avoid this problem entirely, but this is hard to do. Whether we work alone or with large numbers of people, eventually we will need to speak in public to get certain tasks accomplished. And if we want to be leaders or achieve anything meaningful in our lives, we will often need to speak to groups, large and small, to be successful.
    Today we will look at some of the Key Principles to cope with speaking stress:
    First, I shall consider some of the causes of public speaking stress:
    1. Thinking that public speaking is inherently stressful (it’s not).
    2. Thinking you need to be brilliant or perfect to succeed (you don’t).
    3. Trying to impart too much information or cover too many points in a short presentation.
    4. Having the wrong purpose in mind (to get rather than to give/contribute).
    5. Having the wrong purpose in mind (this is unrealistic).
    6. Trying to emulate other speakers (very difficult) rather than simply being yourself (very easy).
    7. Failing to be personally revealing and humble.
    8. Being fearful of potential negative outcomes (they almost never occur and even when they do, you can use them to your advantage).
    Principle 1—Speaking in Public is NOT Inherently Stressful
    Most of us believe parts of life are inherently stressful. In fact, most of us have been taught to believe that life as a whole is very stressful!
    To deal with any type of stress effectively, you first must understand that life itself, including public speaking, is NOT inherently stressful. Thousands of human beings have learned to speak in front of groups with little or no stress at all. Many of these people were initially terrified to speak in public. Their knees would shake, their voices would tremble, their thoughts would become jumbled... you know the rest. Yet they learned to eliminate their fear of public speaking completely.
    You are no more or less human than they are. If they can conquer the fear of public speaking, so can you! It just takes the right guiding principles, the right understanding, and the right plan of action to make this goal a reality.
    Principle 2—You don’t have to be brilliant or perfect to Succeed
    Many of us have observed public speakers and thought to ourselves "Wow, I could never be that smart, calm, witty, entertaining, polished ... or whatever." Well, I’ve got news for you—you don’t have to be brilliant, witty, or perfect to succeed. That is not what public speaking is all about. I know it may look that way, but it’s not. You can be average. You can be below average. You can make mistakes, get tongue-tied, or forget whole segments of your talk. You can even tell no jokes at all and still be successful.
    The essence of public speaking is this: give your audience something of value. That’s all there is to it. If people in your audience walk away with something (anything) of value, .they will consider you a success. If they walk away feeling better about themselves, feeling better about some job they have to do, they will consider you a success. If they walk away feeling happy or entertained, they will consider their time with you worthwhile.
    Principle 3—All You need is Two or Three Main Points
    You don’t have to deliver mountains of facts or details to give your audience what they truly want. Many studies have shown that people remember very few of the facts or information speakers convey.While you may choose to include lots of facts and information, you only need to make two or three main points to have your talk be successful. You can even have your whole talk be about only one key point, if you wish.
    Remember, all your audience wants from you is to walk away with one or two key points that will make a difference to them. If you structure your talks to deliver this result, you can avoid lots of complexity that isn’t really needed. This also should make your job as a speaker much easier, and more fun too!
    Principle 4—You also Need a Purpose That is Right for the Task
    This principle is very important. One big mistake people make when they speak in public is they have the wrong purpose in mind.
    They thought their purpose is to get everyone in the audience to approve of them. They mistakenly thought that this is what good public speakers try to do.
    Remember, the essence of public speaking is to give your audience something of value. The operative word here is GIVE not GET! The purpose of public speaking is not for you to get something (approval, fame, respect, sales, clients, etc.) from your audience. It is to give something useful to your audience.
    Yes, if you do this well, you’ll gain notoriety, respect, sales, and new clients. But this should never be your organizing purpose going in. If you focus on giving as much as you can to your audience, you will then be aligned with the truth about public speaking. You also will avoid one of the biggest pitfalls that cause people to experience public speaking anxiety.
    Principle 5—Humility and Humor Can Go a Long Way
    While each person will eventually find his or her style of public speaking, certain maneuvers can be used by almost everyone. Two of these, humility and humor, can go a long way to making your talks more enjoyable and entertaining for your audience.
    Humor is well understood by most of us, so little needs to be said about it here. If being humorous feels comfortable for you, or if it fits your speaking situation, go for it. It usually works, even if you don’t do it perfectly.
    By humility, I mean standing up in front of others and sharing some of your own human frailties, weaknesses, and mistakes. We all have weaknesses, you know, and when you stand up in front of others and show that you’re not afraid to admit yours, you create a safe, intimate climate where others can acknowledge their personal shortcomings as well.
    What is the best way to practice? Go out and speak in public. Join a local Toastmasters Group if you like. Take a community college course in public speaking. Better yet, offer to teach a course about something you know, very well.
    To Sum up, we have talked about how to conquer public speaking fear. Remember, just keep throwing yourself into the arena, and in no time at all, your skill, confidence and natural ability will come to the surface.