Gerald R. Ford said “If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and learning to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.”

Public speaking is the number one skill that’s guaranteed to position you head and shoulders above the competition, yet it’s frequently overlooked, according to female speaker, Patricia Fripp.

My own take on having the ability to give presentations is that it’s probably the single most powerful thing you can learn to do that gives you the ammunition to say “If I can do that, I can do anything”.

If you’ve ever marvelled at the abilities of a great presenter, the clever use of words to draw pictures, the confidence and charisma that exudes from the platform and the awe in which they are held, you’ll agree with the above statements.

So why is it that when it comes to attending training courses, presentation skills are not the automatic first port of call? Could it be to do with that oft quoted (probably misquoted) statistic that speaking in public is feared more than death? Let’s not go into an examination of quite how ridiculous that would be if it were true. After all, how many of you would really swap places with the guy in the coffin if you were asked to speak at a funeral?

There’s no doubt that public presenting can get the old palms sweating, but given the benefits you’ll get when you know you can do it well, it really shouldn’t stop you. Let’s examine the causes of nerves so you lay your fears to rest and get this most important of abilities added to your arsenal of talents, shall we?

First, examine why you’re nervous. There’s always a reason for nerves so examine what the reasons are so you can deal with the cause and go a long way to eliminating the symptom. Note that I say “go a long way to eliminating”, the chances are that you’ll always feel some nervousness which is when you need to remember that nerves are your friends because they keep your senses sharp & show that you want to do well.

Even seasoned performers suffer from stage fright, some had it so bad they could barely perform. Fortunately, the thought is usually worse than the task. Once you get started, you’ll often find that your nervousness will disappear. I liken it to knowing that you’re about to tackle a drive round London’s Hyde Park Corner or Paris’s Arc de Triomphe in rush hour. Thinking about it really freaks you out but when you’re in the middle of it, you’re too busy concentrating on not hitting anyone that it’s only afterwards you get to think “Wow, I made it in one piece.”

Some of the most common reasons I’ve found for people suffering from nerves are these:

Worry about forgetting what you’re going to say

Worry that the audience will think you’re a fraud

Worry about saying the wrong thing and offending somebody

Worry that someone will ask a question to which you don’t know the answer

Worry that you’ll get a dry mouth or get tongue tied

Worry that you’ll finish too soon or run long

Some of the less common ones I’ve heard were “I’m worried in case there’s a fire alarm halfway through my talk” and “I’m worried that the hem on my trousers will unravel in front of everyone whilst I’m speaking.”

I could dismiss all these are “silly” or “invalid” and tell you that none of them will ever happen, but the fact is that they often will. (Yes, even the trouser hem thing’s happened to me!). Looking down the list, you can see that there’s a lot you can do to avoid these situations occurring: being well prepared, stating your qualifications in your introduction, knowing your subject matter inside and out, timing yourself several times during rehearsals, and so on (sorry, I don’t have a magic bean to disable fire bells during speeches).

But so what if any of them still come to pass? What’s the worst that can happen? Well it’s not life or death, you know. You have to learn to keep your fears in perspective. And remember, the audience wants you to succeed. Nobody enjoys a bad speech.

Do what you can to be prepared and don’t let fear of speaking stop you from gaining that most revered of all skills, the one that will impact every area of your personal and business life. Give yourself the very best opportunity of succeeding and you’ll find the rewards are massive.

Author Bio
Maria Davies is the UK’s most successful female sales presenter who trains others to overcome their public speaking fears and use presentation skills to increase the audience share for their product or service by around 91%. Find out more about forthcoming seminars, worldwide e-trainings or speaker bookings at www.laddersofsuccess.com

The funny thing about presenting and public speaking is that the majority of people will tell you they don’t enjoy it and/or aren’t very good at it. And yet regardless of who they are and what they do, most of the speaking they do on a day-to-day basis IS public speaking.

You see, mostly when we talk to ourselves we keep it as an internal dialogue that nobody else can hear. But whenever we open our mouths and actually make a noise in front of another person we’re speaking in public - hence “public speaking”. So why do so many people find it so scary?

I think it’s the eyes. All those sets of eyes fixed on you….. BORING into you. It’s unsettling. So would it be any easier if your audience was ignoring you and all looking the other way? What if they all dozed off so it WAS as if you were talking to yourself? (Have you ever been a Rotary after-dinner speaker?)

Whatever the reason, the fact is that before getting up to speak, even the most seasoned professional will have some butterflies, whether they choose to call the feeling nervousness or excitement doesn’t really matter. Rest assured, we all experience it to some degree.

If I had one tip to pass on, if I was asked to tell you the most important lesson I’ve learnt over the years I’ve been presenting, it would have to be to stress the absolute necessity of being totally prepared.

Now this may sound obvious and I’m sure you’ve heard this before, possibly many times, and like a lot of important messages it tends to become diluted the more we hear it “Oh yes, I knew that, now what else?”.

And yet, knowing this, some people will be outside in the car park seconds before they have to deliver their sales pitch scribbling it out on the back of a business card. I know, I’ve been there.

When I talk about being prepared, I mean you should know your talk off by heart. You should be able to give it verbatim, standing on your head, without even having to think about what comes next.

Now some of you may be thinking “Yes, but I don’t work like that. I like to keep the spontaneity” or “Yes, but I want to tailor my talk to the occasion” or “Yes, but that would be boring because I’d just be on auto pilot.”

But actually, that’s not what happens. In effect, the opposite is true. When you know your talk by rote, it gives you the freedom to change it around, to add, to subtract without losing your direction. It’s like driving from A to B. If your route is set from the outset and you know it well, you can safely veer off and browse in a few antique shops and have a pub lunch in a picturesque village off the beaten track and still get back to where you were to complete your journey. But, if you’d just set off in the general direction with no main route to which to return, you’d soon get lost if you were to be diverted and you’d have difficulty picking up that thread again.

You see, there are so many things out there that can throw the speaker, and lots of unexpected things can occur when you’re dealing with the public. No matter how good you are, you will become distracted, so knowing your material to the nth degree is absolutely crucial.

If something happens that needs your attention, you’ll have to stop and deal with it, but you can return to your talk with barely a glitch and appear calm, collected and hence the ultimate professional.

You see we all get nervous. We all stick our feet in our mouths sometimes. We don’t ever operate in a hermetically sealed environment, especially when exposed to other humans. But prepare, prepare and over-prepare and not only will you enjoy the confidence of knowing that nothing can phase you because you know your material, but if you’re forced off your chosen route for any reason you can return smoothly and appear to be the consummate professional speaker.

And after all, if you can’t - or won’t - speak about your business, who will?

Author Bio
Maria Davies is the UK’s top professional speaker and presentations coach for women. Find out more at www.laddersofsuccess.com

Performance anxiety is experienced by a large number of people. There can be different reasons of anxiety. Anxiety may be due to some big reason or some small reason. Anxiety can result if you are worried about your performance. A true
Psychological disorder or just a small twinge can be the outcome of performance anxiety.

Symptoms

Performance anxiety is quite a common phenomenon. More or less everyone has undergone performance anxiety in his or her lifetime. The common symptoms one faces during performance anxiety is usually damp hands, a feeling of fear in the pit of stomach, cramps, sweating, and nausea are just a few of them. As a result of anxiety one tends to become more nervous and jittery since anxiety leads to fear.

Hesitant to perform upon being called is a chief symptom of performance anxiety. For example when you are reluctant to accept a promotion or participate in some activity in fear of possible humiliation. If you feel your performance is taking a toll on yourself then you might as well seek some professional help.

Coping and Treatment

If your Performance Anxiety is bothering you, there are ways of coping. For people who have manageable anxiety levels, simply socializing more and performing more can help to alleviate or make your fear and anxiety disappear, as you become familiar with performing and it becomes no longer a feared unknown. There are also organizations like Toastmasters International that can help you improve your public speaking so that if your anxiety was linked to your inexperience with speaking in front of groups, then you can learn the techniques that will help you excel at it.

Glossophobia is that stage when your performance anxiety has reached to an unmanageable stage. It is derived from the Greek words glosso- meaning tongue, and -phobia, meaning fear or dread. If you are a victim of glossophoboia then it is recommended that you take professional help. That way your actual condition will be assessed properly and the professional helper can guide you towards the most suitable course of action. The best treatments may be common medications like Valium, Xanax, Celexa, Zoloft, and Paxil or therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy. In this type of therapy the patient undergoes counseling with the health professional. Even if your performance anxiety has to reached to an advanced stage, treatments like medications and therapies always help.

Causes

No solid reason for experiencing Performance anxiety has been presented by the psychological community. Many people can suffer from Performance anxiety owing to some past experiences. One may suffer from performance anxiety out of the fear of the real life situation. Anxiety can be hereditary as well or it may be caused due to chemical imbalances. Only after you find out the actual reason to your anxiety you can be cured completely. Undergoing treatments medication and therapy, research has showed that many people suffering from performance anxiety disorders have been cured within a short period of time. There may be many people who don’t have a serious anxiety problem can take help from non profit organizations like Toast masters International which are established for helping people.

Author Bio
Jacob Felts is the author of http://www.anxietycure.org

If somebody told me, “Go out there and ruin your voice for the rest of your life”, I could do it in less than 1 year. Here is what I would do:

1. Nicotine: Crowded bars are notorious for their toxic air. Not only will singing in this toxic environment ruin your voice, talking can be just as damaging. Thankfully most clubs are aware of the dangers and are actually becoming smoke-free. Quitting smoking was VERY hard to do. I wasn’t ready to quit until I was ready and even then it took a couple of years.

When you’re ready let me know, I’ll be happy to tell you what worked for me. But that would be a whole other article.

2. Alcohol: I don’t drink. I know that is just as hard to hear as a musician who does not do drugs. But I saw it as an occupational hazard. Since I liked drinking so much, I figured I would stop drinking during work. But now that I am singing so many nights every week, it just makes sense to stay sober.

Also, you’ll need to look out for throat sprays and holistic remedies that contain alcohol. We all know that over the counter medicines contain some alcohol, which was one of the reasons why I don’t take them. But the so called “healthy” cures will require a quick reading of the label. Alcohol dries out the vocal chords.

So if you want ruin your voice in less than 1 year - Drink and drink heavily.

3. Sugar: OK so I don’t do drugs and I don’t drink. But boy do I love chocolate. Included in this list could also be carbonated soda pops. So pick your spots. Chocolate before the gig is perfect for ruining your voice. Plus, if I ate enough of those really good donuts down at the German Bakery, I could get real fat and clog up my arteries. That wouldn’t just ruin my voice in a year, I could ruin my whole body.

Clearly, I do not want to ruin my voice. But how can I keep my voice strong? Look here in the future for more information on how we do it. For now though, I can tell you that when I stay from all three of these, my voice repairs itself quickly and efficiently.

“I am not Dr. nor have I ever played one on TV”
- some obscure TV commercial

But I do know what works for me and all of my fellow “Saloon Singers” who I gig with all over the country for Corporate Parties and Fundraisers.

I could have easily added 7 more ways to ruin your voice for life. It takes planning and discipline. It takes commitment and focus. And best of all it can take you career and slingshot it past those who do not take care of their most valuable asset - their voice.

Author Bio
Dan Gillogly is currently employed as a Saloon Singer about eight nights a week. His mother still wants to know when he is going to get a job. As a former Music Director at The Second City, he has written and performed music for A&E, FOX-TV and countless corporate clients including AT&T, Sears and IKEA.

Hear you are, perfectly relaxed as you attend the farewell party of Joe.

Your boss comes up and asks,” Would you give the farewell speech to Joe in 10 minutes time?”

“I can’t'” you splutter, “my vocal chords are paralyzed.”

And the fear kicks in.
“I can’t do this!”
I must be crazy!”

That doesn’t work so now you wait for the floor to open up and swallow you.

That doesn’t happen either.

Public Speaking creates a great deal of anxiety in most people and arises when they face the prospect of giving a speech, particularly for the first time.

The truth is that public speaking is always a mixture of terror and exhilaration.

For everyone.

It’s just like snow skiing.

When you start, all you can think about is how awkward you are, how dangerous it is and how you’ll never be able to do this.

You get one turn right, get up a little bit of speed, the snow starts to fly in the sunshine and a tiny bit of excitement pops up.

Later, as you become a more accomplished skier, the balance between terror and exhilaration changes.
Now you are zipping down the slopes, carving those turns and feeling like an Olympic Champion!

But there is always that little bit of anxiety lurking, as you speed across the snow.

Typically for beginners in public speaking, all we experience is the terror.

Waiting for our turn to come, starting our speech, the terror remains.
This seems to consume us, makes us irrational and we often feel paralysed.
Then somehow we get through the presentation, come from the stage and as the numbness wears off, the next feeling we have is relief that the ordeal is over.

However, we still retain a sneaking regard for our courage in making that speech and a small glow of exhilaration starts to burn within.

Particularly if we can stop saying to ourselves, “how bad we were.”

In fact, as you walk from the spotlight, say, “Well done indeed,” to yourself.

Why?

Because it’s true.

With more practice, the amount of terror reduces and the amount of excitement increases.
Now you do another speech, another presentation and pretty soon you actually realise that you are enjoying this and you become amazed.

And slowly you become hooked on the excitement of giving a speech.

So much so that when you go to fridge in the night for a drink, the fridge light comes on, and you give a 5-minute presentation!

And then the fun starts to creep in.

And by the way.

If you do not have any nervousness or excitement just before you speak, you will come across to your audience as flat.

Did you know that some of the greatest orators in the world have been known to be physically sick, before giving a stirring speech.

So, always be kind to yourself.

You will get better, with every presentation that you make.

But you have to make the presentations.

So learn the information and then simply “do it!”

Author Bio
Roger Bourne has been involved in Public Speaking, Personal Development and Coaching for more than 25 years.

As published author of “From Fear to Fame in Public Speaking,” he knows how to makes it clear and simple for people getting started in Public Speaking.