Should you use hypnosis to get rid of your public speaking fear?

By Ellen Egan

abbasj812

When people speak with me about their public speaking fear, we will discuss the many techniques for ridding themselves of the nervousness they feel before stepping up on stage. For people whose nervousness feels so profound that they can’t even get near the stage, the question of hypnosis often comes up as a potential “magic pill” cure for their public speaking fear.

At the same time that people will broach this topic with me to see if I support it, they may have an image of the stereotypical stage hypnotist who makes people do silly things on stage while they are hypnotized. This stereotype of hypnosis is not the type of hypnosis that will help rid you of your fear of public speaking.

Public speaking and presentations are really all about effective communication. The real goal we all have is to improve our speaking skills to the point where we are able to easily and effectively get our message across to an audience. If you have a fear of public speaking, this is a real hurdle to your being able to stand up in front of people and get your message across. Your nervousness causes other reactions like shaking hands, inability to find the right words, perspiration, mumbling, etc. which all get in the way of you feeling relaxed and your audience receiving your information. So, the real key is to find a way to diminish the nervousness or find a way to relax.

This is where hypnosis can fit in. You can consider hypnosis as a relaxation method. If your brain tends to go down the path of nervousness when you consider an upcoming presentation, hypnosis simply provides another path. Hypnosis is really just deep relaxation. When you are really relaxed it is easier for you brain to create new paths or new options for you to use in various situations. You can create the option to be comfortable and confident when you step in front of an audience instead of feeling scared.

Hypnosis is not a magic pill that you can take which will rid you of all of your problems. But, it is a tool you can use to increase the choices you have available to you when you are in a public speaking situation. You can choose to be calm, confident and relaxed.

There is no need to feel trapped by your fear of public speaking. With a short hypnosis session, you can learn to let go of the fear and move into confidence.

Click Here! for a hypnosis programme that really works.

To your success,
Ellen

Public speaking tips – Whatever happens is normal

by:  Ellen Egan

SuperFantastic

I was just reading an article about leadership and the author was talking about the concept of approaching each situation with the understanding that “everything is normal”.  I thought that was a great concept to share and to apply in public speaking.

One of the fears that people attach to public speaking is that “something terrible” will happen while they are speaking – something that will throw them off their well-planned-out speech and leave them babbling like an idiot,  or worse, silent in front of the room.  Does this fear sound familiar?  Often if you ask people what they think could go wrong, they have difficulty defining this thing that would throw them so off-track.  But, the fear is firmly in place, nonetheless.

Now, we all know that when it comes to public speaking, I am all for preparation.  Can’t be too prepared, I always say.  But, at the same time you must expect the unexpected and know that “whatever happens is normal”.  If you can approach each public speaking experience with the attitude that whatever happens is normal, and more importantly, that you can handle it – you will sail through every presentation with style, and enjoy yourself a lot more.

Remember this tip when you are stepping up for your next presentation and you will be able to approach every little “glitch” with a smile and a calm demeanor.

To your success,

Ellen

Tips for better public speaking – Don’t make a speech

By Ellen Egan:

Many books on public speaking and experts on public speaking will tell you how to make a speech.  But, I would suggest that if you want to improve (and more thoroughly enjoy) your public speaking, you should focus less on delivering a speech and more on having a conversation with your audience.  This will improve your public speaking experience in several ways.

1.  Your audience will feel more comfortable with you.  We tend to feel more comfortable, listen more attentively and have greater respect for people who speak with us rather than people who speak at us.  Conversations are naturally more engaging both for the person who is talking and for the person who is listening.

2. You will feel more comfortable.  You have conversations every day.  It’s a very natural thing.  If you begin to view your public speaking opportunities as conversations, the “fear factor” of delivering a formal speech will dissipate.

3.  Your audience will absorb and retain the information better.  As I mentioned earlier, people learn or retain information better when they are engaged in the process.  If someone is talking at you, it is very easy to drift off into your own thoughts because you are not truly involved in the communication process.   However, in a conversation, you are part of the process and therefore, more apt to pay attention.  When your audience is paying attention, they are more likely to hear and absorb what you are saying.

OK, Ellen.  We are convinced.  But the question is…

“How do we do this?”

1.  Begin by removing some of the barriers to natural communication like staring at your notes and index cards.  Remove physical barriers like the podium.  Remove acronyms, “tech speak” and jargon from your presentation.

2.  Make eye contact as much as  possible.  If you find this difficult, then find one or two friendly faces in the room and speak with them as much as possible (ideally they are in different parts of the room).  If that is still too difficult, then  speak with one or two people’s noses.  It looks like you’re making eye contact, even when you aren’t.

3.  Include questions within your speech – especially in the introduction.  By including questions in your introduction, you are establishing the conversational style from the beginning.  You can choose questions that require audience interaction – this is ideal, but may be intimidating at first.  Or, you can ask a question that doesn’t need audience interaction, but the audience can answer in their own minds (e.g. “Do you think most people want to improve their careers?”).  Then, answer the question. “Yes, we do!”.  You can also use  questions and frame your presentation to  appeal to the audience’s natural curiosity and emotion (e.g. “Do you know how many children in our country are malnourished?”)

4.  As always, one of the keys to getting comfortable, is practice, practice, practice.  As you practice your speech, you will begin to get a more conversational rhythm.  You can also practice with your volume to ensure that you have a conversational tone and that everyone will be able to hear you.

There are some good places to start.  Let’s keep this conversation open and comment back to me on what you think and how its working for you.

You may ask.  ”But, I’m covering a very technical topic, don’t I need to be more formal?”

No, you don’t have to.  And, I will cover tips and techniques for public speaking with a technical topic in a post very soon.

To your success,

Ellen

Can we manage public speaking anxiety?

By Ellen Egan

For those of us who have felt public speaking anxiety, we know that at the time it can feel as though it takes over all your thoughts.  You may begin to wonder if there is actually any way to manage this anxiety.  This is especially true if you find it is having a detrimental effect on your life because you are changing your college courses to avoid giving a class presentation or you are not advancing in your chosen career because you are avoiding delivering important internal or external presentations.

On the day of a speech or presentation, you will need to have a routine for managing anxiety. Make a routine which puts you in a positive frame of mind and allows you to maintain a relaxed state. Study some of the many books on public speaking to discover how to address your audience confidently and maintains audience interest in what you are saying.

A few tips

1. Accept some anxiety. I have a bit of nervous excitement before a performance — I call it excitement rather than fear.    I think most performers say that a  little anxiety actually makes you a better performer.  It is normal and common to feel this way, so relax and accept that you will feel a bit of fear/excitement.

2.  Estabilsh your goals.Instead of avoiding every presentation, why not set a goal to become a great public speaker?  With a bit of study and practice, even those who fear presentations can become excellent public speakers. You know, Michael Jordan had to practice and practice and practice before he became a proficient basketball player.  Who knows, it might even become something that you enjoy doing.

3.  Keep it all in perspective. Your speech does not have to be “perfect”. This is just one aspect of your life and one set of the many sets of skills that you have.  Keep this in perspective by simply making it a goal to improve your public speaking.  Then if you improve a little bit each time, you will find that you have actually made great strides over time.  The main thing is to learn, practice and get comfortable enough in front of an audience  so that public speaking fear does not stand in the way of your goals.

To your success,

Ellen