How to overcome the

Fear of Public Speaking

(It’s really not THAT bad!)

What are you afraid of?

Top 10 Fears:10. Dogs9. Loneliness8. Flying7. Death6. Sickness5. Deep water4. Financial problems3. Insects and bugs2. Heights1. PUBLIC SPEAKING!

Have you ever been in this kid’s shoes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q45N-oNu-4

You’re not alone! • Fear is normal!

• Fear activates our emergency energy system so that we can cope with danger.

• Definition of “phobia”—a persistent, irrational fear (e.g. happy birthday kid)

Symptoms of stage fright: • Upset stomach • Flushed face • Dizziness • Fast heartbeat • Shortness of breath

• Excessive perspiration • Wobbly legs

What is the cause of

stage fright?• We don’t want to be judged or evaluated• We don’t think our ideas are worth listening to• We doubt we can say our ideas well• We fear the audience won’t like us while we are speaking

Ultimately, stage fright is caused by a lack of confidence!

How to avoid stage fright—check yourself first• Pessimistic Attitude—if you perceive public speaking as a task you prefer to avoid, you may begin to experience mental and physical signs of anxiety before you even begin speaking.

• Inadequate preparation and practice—minimizing the importance of preparation and practice only increases the amount of uncertainty surrounding the upcoming speech. (Hint to avoid this: choose the right topic and over prepare.)

• Unrealistic goals—set high goals but also make sure they are realistic (example: don’t plan to explain the science behind rocket engineering if you are failing science.)

• Negative self-talk—a self-defeating pattern of communicating silently to yourself that includes things like self-criticizing and self-pressuring.

http://youtu.be/EIOQv6X1CP8

http://youtu.be/repfnWVhZAQ

Confidence• Definition: the feeling you have when you believe you are capable of handling a situation successfully.

• When was a time when you felt confident?

Confidence is the result of ongoing preparation and practice.

Confidence begins with your attitude. You must decide that you can and will succeed.

Mind over matter, or in this case, words.

What makes you feel confident?

How can you use this knowledge to your advantage?