Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety

Remember when you first learned to drive? You were probably pretty nervous, kept both hands on the wheel, held that wheel tightly, and shied away from highway driving because the sheer speed frightened you. Fast forward to now. You drive with one hand on the wheel (hopefully not with the other one on your cell phone!), zoom down the highway without a second thought, and laugh at how nervous you used to be. What has changed? Driving involves the same simple skills, but your attitude toward it is completely different. You have been transformed by your experience and success as a driver.

Public speaking is a similar endeavor. You will get more confident with experience and success. But there is a fundamental difference. Imagine if no one had ever TAUGHT YOU to drive. Your initial fear would be paralyzing and the results likely to lead to tremendous anxiety and difficulty, if not tragedy.

I find many people in this same situation with public speaking. They have seen others do it, so they have a rough idea of what should be done, but when they see it done masterfully they simply exclaim "I could never do that!". Well of course you couldn't if you have never been taught and had the chance to practice what you have been taught, right?

That's why I am employed. Because people need to be taught how to do this thing we call public speaking and taught how to do it well. So what I am about to share is true and helpful. However, these things alone will not make you a masterful speaker. You will need training for that. What they will do is help to reduce your anxiety a bit or at least help you manage it and use it to your advantage.

1. Know what you are talking about. There is really no substitute for this. If you are not confident in your knowledge of the topic, you will not be confident. It's as simple as that.

2. Approach public speaking with the right attitude and purpose. If you waste your time thinking about how much you dread your upcoming presentation, guess what? You will dread your presentation. The result being a dreadful talk. It is a simple self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead, have a clear purpose aimed at improving the lives of your audience. You give a speech for and audience--not for a boss, a grade, or any other reason. Spend the time you have been wasting on fear and dread working on your speech!

3. Know your fundamentals. There is an art to this and there are certain conventions that have been proven to work. Familiarize yourself with them and employ them. A college public speaking course should do it for you. For those with less time, hire a pro. I can teach you in a couple of hours what you will spend four months learning in a college course because it will be tailored for you and your strengths and weaknesses.

4. Practice aloud. Can't emphasize this enough. I have written an entire blog entry on the subject. You really should read it.

5. Avoid stimulants. Caffeine, sugar, energy drinks, etc., will only intensify the adrenalin rush you are going to experience in the first minute or so.

6. For those with really bad problems there are techniques that a professional can share with you such as systematic desensitization, positive visualization, relaxation techniques, and classical conditioning.

7. Breathe. Simple but effective. Breathe deeply. Oxygen has a relaxing effect on the body as it makes its way from your lungs to the bloodstream and  muscles.

8. Or you can just hire someone like myself. Any communication consultant or speech coach worth their salt will be able to take you from frightened novice to fully functioning professional in relatively little time. This isn't rocket science. It's just specialized knowledge that a professional can share with you, not unlike the tax consultant or IT consultant we employ to help us...and every bit as essential to success.

I firmly believe that pretty much anyone can be a good competent speaker. I have seen thousands of students overcome their fear in my public speaking course so I'm very confident you can too. With the right help you CAN do this and eventually do it brilliantly.

That's all for today friends. Until we meet again, be well, speak well, and thank you for reading!

For those interested in learning more about Dan Leyes' consulting work, see Semiosphere Consulting.

Some Favorite Links

Today's post will feature some of my favorite website sources related to public speaking as well as just some general sites I find myself using and perusing,

One great source on speech anxiety is the Livestrong site. I have found it to be an excellent one-stop shopping site for reasonably authoritative resources on the topic.

Another wonderful one-stop shopping site is Andrew Dlugan's Six Minutes Speaking and Presentation Skills:  Your Guide to Being a Confident and Effective Speaker.  I can literally spend hours reading this site and it's countless links to good sources.

A personal fave is the work of Alex Rister. She is a professor at Full Sail University and I find that I basically agree with every word she writes. Her work in PowerPoint and visual aids in general is brilliant.

One site I got turned on to via Alex's site is Presentation Zen. Cool thoughtful articles, primarily focused on presentation design, but more often than not a great general read for anyone--especially for those who make their living in front of an audience.

There are a couple of other sites I feel obligated to share just because they have improved my quality of life. They don't deal with public speaking per se, and most of you will probably already know them, but for those who don't I give you Ted: Ideas Worth Spreading and Snopes.com.

Ted talks are now a mainstream of intellectual life worldwide. I like to think of it as really smart people talking about smart stuff in ways that pretty much anyone can understand for twenty minutes or less.

And Snopes is my go-to source for debunking those annoying chain emails that some of my friends insist on sending me, as well as for recognizing scams a mile away. Favorite it. You'll be surprised how often you have to go to it to debunk the latest Facebook meme that has everyone in such a snit. Just be careful, people tend to be disappointed when you inform them that the object of their outrage is just a lie.

And of course I would be derelict in my duties if I didn't share with you the most important websites of them all: Semiosphere Consulting, my LinkedIn profile, my Twitter page, and of course my Facebook page.

That's all for today my friends. Be well, speak well, and as always thank you for reading.

Do You Need A Speech Coach?

If you are in a profession that requires even occasional public speaking, you may have considered hiring a speech coach. Undoubtedly you will weigh the costs versus the benefits. Today I would like to spell out some of those benefits as well as the costs--the costs of not hiring a speech coach.

First, you probably wonder, do I really need help? After all I'm pretty good, certainly better than some I have seen! And you are probably right. But is "better than bad" good enough? And could "better than good enough" help your bottom line? If so, then you probably could use some help.

After all, even people who perform at the highest levels retain coaches to help them in their quest for ongoing improvement and to maintain excellence. Michael Jordan still had coaching, despite being the greatest of all time. Are you better at speaking than Michael Jordan was at basketball?

Another question to ask yourself is "How do I feel about speaking?" Do you love every minute of it, reveling in the moment? or do you hate it with a passion? Or are you more ambivalent about it, seeing it as a necessary evil?

I ask these questions because one of the things a coach can do is change our perception of speaking itself. We need to be fully engaged in the process, not the least bit reluctant. Our attitude comes through to our audience, and the least bit of negativity tarnishes our presentation in subtle and not so subtle ways that can undermine our efforts.

What else can a coach do for you? They will be brutally honest. This is something our friends colleagues and associates might be reluctant to do for obvious reasons. But sometimes we need to hear the cold, hard truth. And because they are brutally honest, we can also believe the positives, which is extremely important. This way, when they tell you you are great, you can believe it and go out there with full confidence in what you do.

A good coach will not try to change you. They will simply bring out your best qualities and eliminate any major flaws. The goal is to be yourself at your best. Anything else will stand out as being inauthentic. And we don't trust that which is not "the real thing".

Most importantly a good coach will help you prepare. I would hope we all prepare before a speech, but are we doing it in the best, most efficient possible way? For many, we're not. A good coach will make sure we are at the top of our game when the lights come up.

But what is the cost? A reputable speaking coach will probably run you $200-$500 per hour, so it's not cheap.

But, what is the cost of doing ineffective presentations? One lost contract or job could cost you many times the cost of some coaching. I recently watched a company pitch its services to my town at a borough council meeting. While I am not part of the decision-making body, I would be shocked if the company wins the contract. Not because they would be bad--quite the contrary, they appeared to have a great service/product. They will not win the contract because the sales presentation was so poorly done. It was poor enough that I emailed the company the very next morning offering my services. Alas, I received no reply. Sadly, this tells me they just don't get it and will be out there doing more bad presentations--losing more contracts--for reasons that are completely solvable. In one or two hours I would have them set up with a sales pitch and the principles to apply for future pitches that would maximize their sales potential.

Clearly they didn't think they needed a speech coach. I know better. They do.

What about you? Do you need a speech coach? Could your sales presentations be more successful? Or, would it be worth a couple of hundred dollars to give the most kick-ass "Best Man" speech ever? Do you have to deliver a presentation for acceptance into a prestigious school? These are all situations for which a speech coach would be well worth the cost.

Got questions? Visit semiosphereconsulting.com and/or click on the "Contact Us" link for additional information.

Until then, be well and speak well. And as always. thanks for reading!