“Communication is the most important skill for personal and professional success. In this talk, Danish Dhamani discusses how overcoming your fear of public speaking is key to leading a fulfilling life and unlocking your true potential. Danish’s vision is to empower everyone around the world to overcome their fear of public speaking and to become a better communicator. As a first-generation immigrant, for whom English is a second language, the fear of public speaking haunted Danish throughout his early life. By constant practising and coaching, he soon realized that people are not born public speakers; instead public speaking is a learnable skill. This is what inspired Danish to create Orai, a mobile app that uses artificial intelligence to improve your speaking ability. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.”
Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speeches in a friendly environment. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.
Fear of public speaking is one of the greatest fears of people all over the world. Visualize success before giving a speech with tips from a communications specialist in this free public speaking video.
Visualize yourself delivering a great presentation. Think of every detail.
Visualize yourself walking up before your group standing tall, walking deliberately and looking confident.
Visualize yourself looking at the audience, taking a pause for a full breath.
Visualize yourself delivering a strong and confident introduction of yourself and topic.
Visualize yourself delivering your information with fluency and engaging intonation patterns.
Visualize the audience enjoying your presentation. See the interest and enjoyment in their faces.
Visualize answering questions with confidence.
Visualize a strong closing.
Visualize applause.
Visualize people or your boss approaching you and saying how well the presentation went.
Visualize yourself looking pleased and proud of your delivery.
Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speeches in a friendly environment. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.
“The greatest obstacle to creating the life you want is fear.
It affects every single area of our lives. You’re afraid of what happens if you take that next step. People spend their whole lives in their “comfort zone” because they’re afraid to step out and do something different…”
“How many years have you allowed fear to hold you back from your dreams?”
“For example, public speaking is one of the greatest fears. What if you freeze when you get up to speak? What if you say something stupid? What if you look like an idiot?
My answer is “So what?” So what if you say something stupid. You’ve probably done it before, and you’ll do it again. And I’m thoroughly convinced someone will think you look like an idiot. The majority won’t. They respect you for even getting up there, but someone will think you look like an idiot. So what? That same person who thinks you look like an idiot really is an idiot. So why would you care what they think?”
“Don’t allow FEAR to control your life and hold you back. Every breakthrough you’ll ever have in your life and business will require you to overcome FEAR. It’s the enemy. It’s hiding in your mind right now making up excuses for why you can’t go forward. It’s telling you why it won’t work for you. It’s creating excuse after excuse of why you have to stay where you’re at instead of stepping out toward your dreams…”
——— Are you afraid to stand and speak your mind? You are not alone! Public speaking is the greatest fear a person may have.
On the other hand, to speak well in public is an asset.
Speaking with confidence is really useful. However, not everyone can do it.
Fear Of Public Speaking – The One Key To Overcoming It Forever
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You may have read through our blog and many other blogs on public speaking tips.
You may have read books on how to conquer the fear of public speaking.
You may have attended courses or workshops on how to improve your communication skills.
However, you lack a platform for practice.
Practice is the key to helping you improve in public speaking. Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speaking skills. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.
Do you want to speak like a pro? Fed up of giving dull presentations? Learn the secrets from Presidents Kennedy and Obama. You too can put a man on the moon! Check out the below article, How to Speak Like a Pro.
Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speeches in a friendly environment. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.
On 25 May, 1961, President Kennedy stood before congress and delivered his famous “man on the moon” speech which mobilised 180m American’s to be the first country to put a man on the moon.
Not all presentations you give to your clients or teams will have such a powerful message as this, but nevertheless; there are a number of lessons which you can apply to give your presentations more impact.
1. Be yourself
You should never try to mimic someone else’s style. You need to develop your own and be authentic. You cannot talk about issues of importance to your audience when they don’t believe in you. That is not to say you can’t learn from the great masters. You should study them and learn from them.
2. Make it Relevant
When Kennedy stood up to address Congress there was a single black and white image of the moon . Nothing could be quite so evocative a backdrop for such a presentation.
Start by talking about the situation the audience faces. You want them to start by agreeing with you so your message becomes easier to sell. Once you have their attention you can lead them wherever you want to take them.
Start where your audience is, not where you are. Start talking by broadly describing the situation they are facing, then move on to talk about what’s on their minds and the challenges they are facing.
3. Keep it Simple
Throughout his presidential campaign, President Obama kept his message simple – “change you can believe in” – which is not only simple, it’s easy to remember. You too can keep it simple, even if you have a complicated subject such as finance or engineering and involving large amounts of technical data.
What’s your core message? When you start preparing your presentation or speech you will no doubt have a number of messages. Keep chiselling away at them until you have a single core message.
Once you have achieved this, then all of the other ideas can hang off it.
Don’t confuse a complete message with a persuasive one. Just because you’re presenting doesn’t mean the audience will grant you all the time in the world to deliver your message. Audiences have limited attention spans and a limited ability to absorb complex data.
4. Anticipate what your audience is thinking
Be aware that when you express one view the audience will automatically associate an opposite or alternative aspects to it as well.
A presentation that does not deal with these alternatives loses the audience’s attention because it fails to address the questions and concerns that come up in people’s minds.
Therefore, you need to anticipate it. Show your audience that you understand the opposite view better than they do, and explain why your proposal or argument is still superior.
5. Pace
Taking an extract from the “man on the moon” speech we see the following:
“These are extraordinary times // And we face an extraordinary challenge // Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in freedom’s cause // No role in history could be more difficult or more important // We stand for freedom // That is our conviction for ourselves-that is our only commitment to others // No friend, no neutral and no adversary should think otherwise // We are not against any man-or any nation-or any system-except as it is hostile to freedom // Nor am I here to present a new military doctrine, bearing any one name or aimed at any one area. I am here to promote the freedom doctrine. …//”
He pauses for impact, for us to catch up with him. Break up your messages into short sentences and mark up with // to show breathing marks and speak it in the same way. Speak as though you have plenty of time, but not so much that it looks like you’re filling time!!
6. Impact, Emphasis and Body Language
When presenting you need to be conscious of where your hands are and that they aren’t too distracting by waving about.
If standing in front of an audience but without the benefit of a lectern to hide behind, stand with your feet slightly apart and with equal balance on each leg. Then with you palms crossed facing up and just in front of you – as if you were holding an egg, this is your default position. It’s fine to move your hand or point for emphasis, just be conscious you aren’t doing it too much.
Finally, you’ll need to rehearse. Practice calmly walking up to the lectern or the front of the room. Pause for effect. Arrange your papers calmly. Look out to the audience with a sense of command and with assertiveness. Then deliver your opening remarks.
Calmness bestows a sense of authority. If you appear in control, you will in fact gain control and command attention.
Speaking in public provides you the opportunity to promote your brand, your company and yourself. It enables you to expand your circle of influence. Yet many people are reluctant to speak before an audience. Here are ten strategies to help you wow and win over audiences, and become a better speaker.
Practice is the key to helping you improve in public speaking.
Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speeches in a friendly environment. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.
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Power Speaking – 10 Strategies to Wow and Win Audiences
By Dawne Simmons
You know the feeling. Your mouth dries. Your palms moisten. Your heartbeat pounds in your ears. Butterflies swoop and soar in your stomach. What’s the cause? You’re about to give a speech. Several studies report that public speaking ranks top among people’s fears. Yet, public speaking also affords you the opportunity to promote your brand, your company and yourself. It enables you to expand your circle of influence. More importantly, public speaking remains a powerful communication tool for your strategic business messages. Here are 10 tips to help you wow and win your audiences, and become a better public speaker.
1. Have something to say. Sounds simple enough. Yet too many speakers merely present encyclopedic reports of facts and figures. Take a stand. Express an opinion. Put your facts in context.
2. Use gentle humor. No, this is not the time to practice your stand-up routine. Try instead to use humorous stories and anecdotes. They can evoke smiles that relax your audience and make them more receptive to your message.
3. Share your personal experiences. You’ve been invited to speak because of your knowledge about a subject. Your experiences – both the successes and stumbles, as well as what you’ve learned from each – add an important human touch.
4. Stay within your allotted time – or even shorter. On the subject of making speeches, Franklin Roosevelt once advised, “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” Your audience will appreciate your consideration of their time.
5. Allow your personality to shine. Everyone has a personal style – especially you. Allow your manner of speaking to reflect the real you. Are you soft spoken with understated wit? Then don’t try to emulate Carol Burnett or Eddie Murphy. Are you an extrovert with lots of pizzazz? Then it’s a mistake to take on the persona of Queen Elizabeth or Mother Teresa. Make sure it’s your personality that shines in the limelight.
6. Engage your entire body. Use hand gestures, eye contact and facial expressions to get your point across. Whenever possible, move around the stage. Vary your voice with stage whispers or muted yells. Your speech must be more than a dry recitation of facts and opinions. Effective public speaking is a performance that engages the audience. They will appreciate your efforts to keep them entertained.
7. Research your audience. Why is your subject important to them? How will the issue affect their lives? Knowing the answer to those questions enables you to tailor your presentation to the audience’s specific needs.
8. Understand your goals. How do you want your audience to feel after your conclusion? Speeches have the power to persuade, inform, inspire, entertain or move your audience to action. Tailor your remarks to meet both your goals and the audiences’.
9. Practice, practice, practice. Whether you use a full written text, talking points or brief notes, rehearse your remarks. Mark Twain explained that it took him more than three weeks to prepare an impromptu speech. Don’t just read it silently. Speak it aloud. This gives you the opportunity to time your talk and to change words or phrases that trip you up. An added bonus: Practice enables you to transform your anxiety into a poised high-energy performance.
10. Enjoy yourself. Your attitude determines whether public speaking presents stumbling blocks or stepping-stones. Have fun. The more speaking opportunities you accept, the better you’ll become. Like any roller coaster ride, public speaking provides both chills and thrills. Climb aboard. The experience is worth the trip.
Dawne Y. Simmons is president and founder of WordStorm Communications, Inc. With more than 20 years of experience in all areas of corporate communications, she assists company leaders develop and promote their strategic messages. For the last 10 years, she has written speeches, presentations, scripts and other business materials for high-level executives in the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors. An award-winning speaker, Ms. Simmons assists executives improve their on-stage presence. She provides confidential, private coaching sessions that help business leaders quickly improve their presentation skills.
Just because you have to deal with stagefright does not mean that you have to be a bad speaker. I don’t know anyone that does not have a difficult time speaking in front of an audience to one degree or another. In fact, a healthy amount of fear while giving a speech will help you to be a better speaker. So you have a choice to make, you can either fall apart because you are afraid to speak in front of an audience or you can use your fear to help you to be the best speaker possible. Here are some typical problems that many new speakers face that can make you a bad speaker and can easily be overcome with a little practice.
Some people that have anxieties tend to take their problems to the opposite extreme. For example, if somebody is dealing with stagefright they may overcompensate by becoming overly relaxed. This will not come across as you being relaxed and poised to your audience. What it will do, however, is to make you a poor speaker. One classic example of this is that many new speakers that are nervous will overcompensate for their nervousness by leaning on the podium or becoming overly familiar with a strange audience. It is necessary to maintain your composure by standing up tall when you’re speaking and to build a relationship with your audience during the course of your presentation. Do not allow your nervousness to make you seem arrogant.
Another problem that many people have is that they let their nervousness show up by using unnatural body infections. I once heard a talk that was given by somebody that was supposed to be experienced yet the entire time that they were speaking they were jingling their keys in their pocket. This was not only distracting but it also showed that the person was nervous and was difficult to concentrate on the information that they were trying to convey. Nervousness can also show up in over gesturing or facial tics. One of the best ways to pick up on this kind of a problem is to have somebody videotape you giving the presentation in front of a group of trusted friends. You can then watch yourself for any of your body movements that come across as being unnatural.
The most important thing in dealing with stagefright is that you do not allow your audience to know that you are nervous. Many speakers will feed off of the emotions of their audience and if they are able to control the situation they’re stagefright will disappear quickly after they began their presentation. This is something that is very important to remember because if you are dealing with severe stagefright you need to handle yourself correctly from the beginning in order to overcome it. Once you realize that you are in control of the situation it will be much easier for you to relax and to go through your information in a logical and comfortable manner.
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Overcoming The Symptoms Of StageFright
If you suffer from stagefright in any form then I’m sure that you would like to be able to overcome those problems. Since stagefright can take on many different forms and have a wide variety of symptoms so it is difficult to diagnose each case in one article. What we can do, however, is to speak about a few of the most common symptoms of stagefright and what you can do to overcome them. This will help to cover the basics and will also give you an idea of what you can do to overcome any additional stagefright symptoms that you may be experiencing. Here are the top three stagefright symptoms and what you can do to overcome them before you take the platform.
Dry Mouth – this is a very annoying problem to have, especially when you are going to be speaking in a public engagement. Because your dry mouth will cause you to do things like smacking your lips uncontrollably and it will also change the pitch and tone of your voice. If you are suffering from dry mouth then you need to take a moment to relax, and then go suck a lemon. This may seem like a rather flip comment, but it actually works. The sourness of the lemon will cause your mouth to produce saliva for a long period of time. If you are going to be speaking for a long time, then have some lemon water on the platform for you to sip during your speech.
Shaky Hands – The problem of shaking is not usually confined to only the hands, but this is where it is typically noticed because of you holding your notes. At times your hands may shake so much that you are not able to read your own notes and this can bring your presentation to a screeching halt. Other than really being able to relax a little bit there are very few options to overcome this problem. I have found, however, that holding my notes with two hands will help a great deal. The only other option that you really have is to have a place to set your notes, such as a podium or perhaps even have them on a clipboard.
Shaky Knees – The problem of your knees knocking together is actually something that has been around for thousands of years, the first written instance of it being recorded in the Bible. So you are actually in good company when it comes to having a problem with shaking knees. There are also a few options to be able to overcome this, but one of the best ways is to shift your weight a little bit from side to side. It is necessary to stand straight with your feet below you in order to appear poised for your speech. But there is nothing wrong with shifting your weight slightly to overcome shaky knees provided you do not draw notice to it from your audience.
There are many other things that could go wrong whenever you are giving your speech. One of the best things to do is just to be prepared to take a deep breath during your talk without being too noticeable about it. The moment that you take a deep breath you will find that you will regain your composure to one degree or another.
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“Youtube Video – 6 Ways to Control Your Stage Fright”
Professional speaker and communication coach Dr. Bill Lampton tells you how to control your stage fright, in six easy steps…
Here is the transcript.
Hello! I’m Bill Lampton welcome to another version of let’s talk about it. Today we’re going to talk about six ways to control your stage fright. Notice that I didn’t say eliminated we never really get rid of it even seasoned performers like Carly Simon and Barbra Streisand stayed away from audiences for years because they didn’t want to face a live audience.
You might want to know Bill you’re a professional speaker. Do you ever get stage fright? Yeah, I still do but I’ve found six ways to control it and I want to share those with you.
PREPARE.
In the first place, PREPARE. It sounds like an oversimplification but it really does matter. Prepare, this is something that I tell the people that I work with when I’m providing executive coaching so that they can improve their presentation skills. One of the comments I make is the more preparation you have ahead of time, the less perspiration you have during the speech.
PUT IN PERSPECTIVE.
The second thing I would say is PUT YOUR SPEAKING in PERSPECTIVE while the event is so important to you and seems even monumental. Remember it’s really not likely to be earth-shattering. In fact, in your lifetime in mind there are only a few speeches that have changed history. Don’t expect yours too. In fact, your job will probably not be in jeopardy nor will any other relationships nor your reputation if you give one bad speech. Roger Ailes said you have 720 hours in the month what if one of those hours is a bad speech you’ve still got many other great hours in your month.
THINK ABOUT SYMPTOMS.
Again, I would say, think about the symptoms of stage fright: sweaty palms, your throat gets constricted and dry you. Wish you could have a drink of water. Your hands are trembling. Your knees are shaking. Your stomach is churning. But wait, think about it all of these are internal, not external and the audience won’t be aware of them. This is one of the great values of videotapes. Playback one of your speeches that you gave and you’ll be amazed you’ll say gosh you know I was so scared but it didn’t show at all. Therefore, don’t ever tell your audience that you’re afraid because they’re not likely to know it unless you tip them off and that will diminish their confidence in you.
AUDIENCES ARE FRIENDLY.
Speaking of audiences. Let’s remember that we need to change our attitude about audiences. Audiences are not waiting to be our critics they’re waiting to be our cheerleaders. Why? Because they have been in the same situation themselves and frankly they’re glad that you’re the one up there speaking and not them. Think about it. When you sit in an audience do you want the speaker to fail? No. You want the speaker to succeed because failure is very uncomfortable for everybody.
FORGET IMPRESSION.
Another point DON’T TRY to MAKE a GREAT IMPRESSION If that sounds contradictory, there is another side to it. If you are trying to make a great impression, your focus is on yourself. Your focus instead should be on the message and on the audience that you want to receive that message. So don’t think about what’s my gesture inappropriate. Don’t mispronounce a word did I stumble here are there. No. Think instead about the message that you want to convey to this audience.
THE TRUMP CARD
And then to I would suggest. Remember that you as the speaker hold the trump card. If you play bridge you know how powerful the trump card is. The trump card makes you a winner. Okay? Likewise in speaking, you have the trump card because you and only you know what you intended to say what you meant to say. So if you leave out something or if you miss the state of fact, don’t beat yourself over the head about that. Never let the audience know that you’re aware of it because they certainly aren’t.
Now take these six tips that I have mentioned and use them they really work they have worked for me and for many veteran speakers and they will work for you. I’m Bill Lampton and I’m glad we got to talk about it.
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Reducing Stage Fright to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking
Stagefright is by far the most common reason for people to develop their fear of speaking in public and reducing stagefright to overcome your fear of public speaking may be the best way to go.
There is actually no definite science that will help you reduce your fear of public speaking, but surely, here are some common steps to use to make it work for you.
Try to accept the fear and embrace it, not that you want your fear to take over, but for you to know how your fear works and understand its nature. Don’t try to fight the feeling, instead, try to look for a way around it. Rest assured, your fear will pass more easily once you get to terms with it and not be frightened about it anymore.
Next, try to feed yourself with the idea of calming exercises and gain firm footing by taking deep and slow gentle breaths to help relax your mind and body.
You may also aid this by thinking of positive thoughts and enjoyable images to help clear your mind and attention to the matter at hand.
Never ever try to lose track of reality and stay connected with what goes on around and what is happening at the present moment.
Listen closely to others and pay attention to what goes on around you.
Make the most of the situation by telling yourself of supportive, positive, encouraging and esteemable things.
Think of yourself as your greatest fan and supporter, who could help you go through the circumstance of fear you hope to overcome.
Reflect on your past successes and make the most out of our strengths and abilities, by drawing out that inner strength within you to make you weather through the situation.
Practice makes perfect since it is important to help you keep track of focus by mastering your topic or subject.
Maintain a positive mental attitude, since it will surely reflect on your current disposition and attitude towards your audience.
Make sure to prepare ahead of time and never ever entertain the thought of cramming. Rehearsing more and even overdoing it can be good for you since it will help you gain mastery of your subject matter.
Always make it a point to project confident and self-assured attitude. Body posture is an important indicator so try to make it look as if everything is fine even if you don’t feel like it. Your body language can tell if you are at your weak spot or not.
Always have focus, never try to be distracted by anything, lest you lose your train of thought and panic. If it should happen just try to pause for a while and compose your thoughts.
Avoid trying to be perfect or be number one. The key to overcoming your fear is not against others but convincing yourself that you are doing a good job and you are good at it. Try to avoid focusing on what mistakes could happen, but on what you think you can do to better improve your performance.
Surely, these are things you may be able to do on your own without having to spend countless amounts of money, just as long as you know that reducing stagefright is the best way to overcome your fear of public speaking.
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Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speeches in a friendly environment. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.
“World Champion Speaker Reveals his #1 Key to Overcoming Fear Eliminating the Negative Self-Talk, and & Delivering a Clear Message…Even If This is Your Very First Speech.”
