Feel the Fear . . . And Speak Up!

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Thursday, 4 December 2008

By:Sandra Schrift

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TITLE: Feel the Fear . . . And Speak Up!

AUTHOR: Sandra Schrift

CONTACT: sandra@schrift.com

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Article URL: http://www.schrift.com/article_42.htm

Article Autoresponder: article-042@schrift.com

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Feel the Fear . . . And Speak Up!

Fear of public speaking is No. 1. Death is No. 4. So most

people would rather get a root canal and pay their taxes

than speak in front of an audience!

Ask yourself,

“Wouldn’t it be great to be able to stand in front of an

audience of hundreds of people and hold them in complete

captivation?”

“Wouldn’t it be great to feel confident and assured the

day you’re scheduled to speak before your company’s

executives, an association, or a local civic group?”

“Wouldn’t it be great to go into a presentation confident

that the attendees are going to love you, be surrounded by

their applause, and overhear comments afterwards, such as,

“He was excellent,” or, “She made a real connection with

her audience”?

Here are some tips to build your confidence in front of

others. I have never met an audience that did not want

the speaker to succeed.

1. Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Preparation helps reduce

your jitters. Please do not read your speech. Instead,

use some notes on 3x5 index cards. Be confident that you

know your material. Because you do!

2. Memorize only the opening and closing of your speech.

If you try to memorize your entire speech you will be too

focused on yourself and fearful that you may forget

something. Just continue the conversation, make your

points and use illustrations/stories to highlight your

information.

3. Remember to breathe from your stomach before you

begin . . . and keep breathing.

Deep breaths will keep your vocal chords relaxed and keep

you from trembling. Then no one will know you are nervous.

4.. Deliver your speech as you would engage in a

conversation with someone. Make eye contact with different

members of the audience. When you land on one person’s eyes,

everyone in the audience will feel as if you are speaking to

them also. This is called CONNECTION.

5.. Present your content with lots of examples and personal

stories, mixed with humor and some

interactive exercises for your audience. Get them involved.

This will heighten their interest and retention of your

message. Relax and have some fun. Your audience will too!

6. Here is an old adage to follow: Tell ‘em. what you’re

gonna tell ‘em.(Opening) Tell ‘em. (Body of speech) Tell ‘em

what you told them. (Closing)

7. Stop on time, no matter what. Don’t deliver everything

you know on your topic – just highlight 3 to 5 points in your

speech. Save time at the end for audience questions. And

hang around after your speech to answer some individual

questions.

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Get

more clients and consistent monthly income? Judy Cullins,

book coach, and Sandra Schrift, speaker coach, invite you

to join a "Business Marketing Achievers" small group

coaching beginning May 25th. We are looking for 12

committed people who are ready to use speaking and writing

to catapult their business. For more details, contact

Sandra at 1-800-340-3683 between 9-6pm pst. Hurry! This

group will fill quickly. For details and to

register go to: http://www.schrift.com/group_coaching.htm

COPYRIGHT: ©2005 by Sandra Schrift. All rights reserved

Article Source: http://www.dailynewarticles.com

Sandra Schrift 13 year speaker bureau owner and now career
coach to emerging and veteran public speakers who want to
"grow" a profitable speaking business. I also work with
business professionals and organizations who want to
master their presentations.
To find out HOW TO MAKE IT AS A PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER, go to
www.schrift.com/success_resources.htm
Join my free bi-weekly Monday Morning Mindfulness ezine
www.schrift.com/monday.htm