So what is it that stops us from maintaining a relaxed style when we go from speaking in an informal conversation to speaking in public?

Public Speaking Training can help you conquer your fear

If you want some expert coaching to help you overcome your fear and enhance your public speaking skills then Skillstudio are there to help. We provide:-

Conquer Fear of Public Speaking
A 1-day public workshop for absolute beginners to presenting and public speaking held in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh & Glasgow.

Effective Presenting & Public Speaking
This 2-day Public intermediate level workshop is held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Advanced Public Speaking Coaching
This 2-day Public course is held regularly in Central London.

We can also run our public speaking courses for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe. We also offer 1-2-1 coaching in all aspects of public speaking throughout the UK.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you or your team.

Use your natural resources to conquer the fear

One of the most common reasons why we are not able to maintain a calm relaxed manner when we have to stand up and speak in public is a fear of embarrassment. We are afraid to make fools of ourselves and because of this we don’t take full advantage of all the natural personal resources we have to help us break through the fear factor.

One of our most powerful resources is ourselves. What we do physically when we speak in front of an audience can have a tremendous impact on how we feel.

Positive actions

For example – try the following exercise standing in front of a mirror:

• Hunch your shoulders
• Hang your head down
• Look towards the floor

Now try to introduce yourself in a positive and enthusiastic way. It’s almost impossible to do.

Now try again but this time but this time stand in front of the mirror

• Straighten your back
• Lift your head
• Look directly in front at yourself

Feel the difference compared with the first time.

What you have done is given yourself a strong starting position that helps you to look more confident to your audience. If you do this before you start to speak in public, you are bound to feel more confident.

You can do a similar thing if you have to speak sitting down. Take a strong sitting position with your back fully supported by your chair, your feet on the floor and ideally your arms in an open relaxed position.

Make the most of your body language for public speaking

There is no prescribed starting position that is best for you. It just needs to be something that works well for you and doesn’t give out any negative body language signals that you are unaware of but the audience will be very aware of.

Here are some exercises to try out – to help you become more aware of how to transfer negative body language into positive body language:

• Hunch your shoulders and then release them – feel the difference when they are lowered
• Grasp your hands tightly together and then shake them out and let them hang loosely at your sides to allow a more open body language
• Lean into one leg and then adjust your balance so that it is evenly placed on two feet – feel how much stronger this stance it
• Frown as much as you can and then release as if your forehead is being ‘ironed out’ This is good to do in front of a mirror – to see the different effect it will have on your audience.

Once you have found a good starting position, practise getting into it. The more you practise it the more it will become automatic to do before you start to speak. By creating a strong starting position of your own, this will help you to generate more self-confidence and help you to control of any fears or anxieties you may have about speaking in public.

Public speaking coaching

For most people, becoming more successful at public speaking is a relatively slow and painful process with many never really achieving their true potential.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.  

You can quickly develop these skills with Skillstudio through expert coaching and practice.  And by enhancing your public speaking skills you will be able to develop a much stronger influence on your audiences and reap the business success that goes with that.

To get some coaching in public speaking, click on one of the links below:-

Public Speaking Coaching  - 121 coaching
Public Speaking Courses – Open to members of the public
Public Speaking for Business - In-house training for companies and organisations

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of presentation skills and communication skills, including public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

Conquer the Fear of Public Speaking is one of many articles from Skillstudio Limited providing expert help, tips & advice on how to improve your business communication skills. See Skillstudio Help & Advice for the full list of articles.

• Energy
• clarity and
• humanity.

Energy, in that we all need lightly more energy than we think we do need.

Clarity, that’s clarity of thought, clarity of message, clarity of delivery. So that the listener will understand and remember what you’ve said.

And thirdly, humanity. In a world where electronic communication has almost entirely taken over, the fact that you are one human being who has been bothered to turn up and reach out to another human being gives you an immediate head start. People respond to people. We all want to feel engaged and valued. Humanity is vital.

Public Speaking Training can help you 

If you want some expert coaching to help you enhance your public speaking skills then Skillstudio are there to help. We provide:-

Public Speaking for Beginners
A 1-day public workshop for absolute beginners to presenting and public speaking held in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh & Glasgow.

Effective Public Speaking
This 2-day Public intermediate level workshop is held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Advanced Public Speaking
This 2-day Public course is held regularly in Central London.

We can also run our public speaking courses for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe. We also offer 1-2-1 coaching in all aspects of public speaking throughout the UK.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you or your team.

The magnetic power of great public speaking

If you think of all the great speakers you’ve ever seen, either live or on television, they will have had these three essential qualities, energy, clarity and humanity.

Together with good vocal delivery, positive body language and good structure to their speeches, we find it impossible not to listen to these speakers and we remember what they’ve said.

These are qualities that we all have inside us – we are born with them. But as we grow up we are often told to hide our emotions, this happens to children as young as playground age, and by doing this we cut off one of the most powerful communications tools we have.

How do you become charismatic?

If we can feel comfortable in showing our humanity and our passion, we too can become powerful, charismatic speakers.

How do we learn to use these essential qualities as we get to our feet and present to a group?

Here are some useful tips that can make an immediate difference and double your impact:

Try to lift the energy of the room an extra 10% as you enter – feel like you’re literally lighting the up the room.

Give yourself status – and give your audience the same status that you’ve given yourself. If you do this, you won’t come across as nervous or condescending.

When you first open your mouth, speak as if on a ‘bubble’ of energy.

Keep body language open and relaxed.

Be yourself.

Say Hello – and wait to get a response!

Take a good look at your audience carefully – How are they today? Do they really want to be there? Are they tired, hot, bored?

Keep eye contact with your audience as you speak.

Treat each audience member as an individual – as if you are talking specifically just to them. Try to speak to one person specifically for each point you make. They will feel ‘special’ and the others will feel you are being specific in what you say.

Constantly check to see if your audience are still interested and listening attentively. Monitor their reactions – it will tell you how you’re doing.

Have a conversation with them – like you’re telling some good news to a friend.

Really connect with them – or you might as well have just sent them a video or shown them a PowerPoint presentation.

Be more expressive than you think. Use imagery as you speak. We are more likely to remember and be motivated by hearing that your company’s annual results are ‘like a beautiful sunrise – a perfect circle of hope’, rather than just being told the results are better than expected. If you say that the washing machine that you’re selling is ‘the Rolls Royce of washing machines’, it has more impact on the brain and memory than just saying ‘it’s the market leader’.

Mean what you say, speak with passion – enthusiasm is infectious.

Don’t panic if you feel nervous – some nerves are good – as long as they don’t overwhelm you, they can up the ‘excitement’ factor.

Be slower than you think, nerves tend to make us speak faster. Even if you think you are too slow, it will probably feel like fast-forward to the audience! Normal conversations are 125-140 words a minute – for larger groups and bigger halls, aim for 70 words a minute.

And always remember, your audience WANT you to be good – they don’t want to be bored, they want to be entertained, challenged and energised!

Finally, always end confidently – as if you’ve been the most FANTASTIC speaker, however badly you think you might have done because:

(a) you might not be the best judge of your performance and

(b) by ending confidently, you might fool some people into thinking you were better than you were anyway!

About the author of this public speaking article

This article was written by Robin, one of Skillstudio’s consultant trainers. 

Robin is based in London, is an excellent trainer; and runs many of our public speaking training sessions (from 1-2-1 coaching through to Masterclasses).  

You can read his training bio here. 
 

Public speaking coaching

For most people, becoming more successful at public speaking is a relatively slow and painful process with many never really achieving their true potential.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.  

You can quickly develop these skills with Skillstudio through expert coaching and practice.  And by enhancing your public speaking skills you will be able to develop a much stronger influence on your audiences and reap the business success that goes with that.

To get some coaching in public speaking, click on one of the links below:-

Public Speaking Coaching  - 121 coaching
Public Speaking Courses – Open to members of the public
Public Speaking for Business - In-house training for companies and organisations

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of presentation skills and communication skills, including public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

How to become a powerful charismatic public speaker is one of many articles from Skillstudio Limited providing expert help, tips & advice on how to improve your business communication skills. See Skillstudio Help & Advice for the full list of articles.

Public speaking skills honed to perfection

In the opening gambit of his victory speech, Obama demonstrates a skill which has not only been honed and developed since the roaring oration at the Iowa Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in November 2007, cited by Michael Tomasky as the most engaging speech of the campaign (The best of times, the worst of times, Guardian 8 November), but one that is also quite obviously natural and instinctive to him. It is a mixture of the stirring preaching of the pulpit and the inspirational poetry of the political heavyweight.

His use of Pace, Pitch and Pause is a masterclass

Technically, Obama is more than adept at his craft. His employment of the three ‘p’s – pace, pitch and pause – is a master class in itself. His opening sentence in Chicago contained 45 words and it took him, from the moment he started speaking to the beginning of his next point, 30 seconds to deliver. This equates to an average speech rate of 90 words per minute or 1.5 words per second. All great orators appreciate the importance of pause, and within that a variety of pause, and they ignore it at their peril. We want to hear what they say (mostly) and to see the images they paint and we cannot do that at the sort of speeds that some politicians speak at.

Obama’s long vowel sounds helps us connect with what he’s saying

His skill at extending the long vowel sounds in words such as ‘schools,’ ‘seen’ and ‘first’ not only draws those words out so that we can connect with them but also gives us the benefit of enjoying his rich, balanced and mellifluous resonance. And as for his diphthongs (words with two vowel sounds such as ‘time,’ ‘old’ and ‘poor’) he positively sings them bringing music into his voice.

His vocal energy is magnetic

Leaving aside the rhetorical skill of the text itself, he speaks each thought with a vocal energy that brings his audience to the crest of a wave and keeps them there until he, and only he, decides to bring it crashing to its climax. Lists, which lesser speakers clumsily reel off like the football scores, become great cadenzas which carry us with them on a tide of enthusiasm. His understanding of the power of repetition and how to add optimum vocal function to that celebrated phrase ‘yes we can’ is so simple it is seemingly obvious – repeating the same tune – but demands such confidence and excellence that few could achieve it so convincingly.

His vocal variety is inspirational  

He adjusts his pace to suit the mood of his crowd, gathering speed and slowing down with effortless ease and he pitches his voice perfectly applying the range of notes that some of our most distinguished actors draw on in the great Shakespearean soliloquies.

Maya Angelou wrote: “words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning,” and President – Elect Obama has that capacity in bucket loads. It is invigorating to be reminded of what an inspirational politician actually sounds like and our own leaders and would be leaders could do worse than to tear a leaf from Barack’s book.

Poetic legacy of the new president 

Those lucky enough to have been at Grant Park in the early hours of that Wednesday morning for his victory speech witnessed the culmination of a long and fascinating campaign with an oration that will surely join the ranks of some of world’s greatest political speeches. They, and those listening around the world, could not help but be engaged and, to quote Homer: “he ceased, but left so charming on their ear his voice, that listening they still seemed to hear.”

Let’s hope his politics match his rhetorical ability.

About the author of this article

This article was written by Luan – one of Skillstudio’s consultant trainers.

Luan is an acomplished voice coach and public speaking trainer – and delivers voice coaching; public speaking and presentation skills training to Skillstudio clients.  

You can read Luan’s training bio here.

Like to develop your voice to its full potential?

Voice coaching from an expert can help you to discover your true voice; develop your own vocal strengths and thus communicate with greater influence in all situations.

To get some expert advice and coaching and enhance your vocal skills, click on one of the links below:-

Voice Coaching - 121 coaching
Vocal Impact Courses – Open to members of the public
Voice Coaching Workshops – In-house training for companies and organisations

Want to improve your public speaking?

To get some expert coaching in public speaking from Luan or one of our other trainers, click on one of the links below:-

Public Speaking Coaching  - 121 coaching
Public Speaking Courses - Open to members of the public
Public Speaking for Business - In-house training for companies and organisations

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of presentation skills and communication skills, including public speaking, job interview skills and body language awareness.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you or your team.

We hope you found this article interesting

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

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But there are many factors that increase our feelings of nervousness when public speaking.

There are two broad types: 

Internal – that is how we personally respond; and 

External factors – things we feel are outside our control.

Public Speaking Training can help you overcome your fear

If you want some expert coaching to help you overcome your fear and enhance your public speaking skills then Skillstudio are there to help. We provide:-

Overcome Fear of Public Speaking
A 1-day public workshop for absolute beginners to presenting and public speaking held in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh & Glasgow.

Effective Public Speaking
This 2-day Public intermediate level workshop is held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Advanced Public Speaking
This 2-day Public course is held regularly in Central London.

We can also run our public speaking courses for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe. We also offer 1-2-1 coaching in all aspects of public speaking throughout the UK.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you or your team.

External Fears of public speaking

The most common external ones are:

• Importance of the stakes involved (career/status)
• The size and composition of the audience
• The venue – Is it the well-known Board Room or the unknown Conference Centre
• The time of day – some people are better in the morning and some in the evening
• Your personal state of emotional wellbeing – recent personal events may have taken their toll (relationship break-ups/bereavement) or made you feel great (falling in love/getting a promotion)
• Your recent performance when speaking – 3 good ones in a row or 3 disasters?

Internal fears when speaking in public

On top of these external factors are four common internal fears or worries:

1. Fear of being nervous

(As Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself .”)

People often say, “If I look nervous on the outside, my internal, confident persona crumbles.”

So often the battle is not with the fear itself but between two parts of yourself.

Your confident persona is in conflict with the sensitive and feeling part of you.

If you broke your arm you wouldn’t pretend you hadn’t broken your arm and divorce yourself from it. Everyone can see you’re wearing a plaster cast.

Try admitting your fear to yourself. Even try saying, “I am excited to be speaking to you today. I’m SO excited that I’m scared stiff because I want to do the best job for you I can. So if you see my hand shaking it’s only excitement!”

2. Fear of being judged – worrying what others will think of us

We often think the whole audience is sitting there judging us, as if we were contestants on THE X FACTOR. Just remember, that audiences have their own issues to worry about. For example:

• May a sick child at home
• Maybe thinking about what to question to ask afterwards
• Maybe angry with a co-worker for plotting against him at work
• Maybe worried about losing his job
• Maybe worried he has an uncomfortable ulcer

Because of this, your audience will tune in and out of your speech thinking about themselves and their own worries. They might very well not notice if you blush or that your hand shook for a couple of seconds.

3. Fear of going off script – forgetting your words

Fear of forgetting your words is, of course, a worry for many professional actors and singers. Barbara Striesand once forgot her lyrics in 1968 and didn’t perform live again for years. If you are giving a presentation, most of the audience will not know what you had intended to say. So if you forget your words or ‘go off script’ they probably won’t even be aware of it!

You could occasionally try speaking off the cuff – you probably know your subject well enough anyway. And speaking off the cuff can often have great benefits in making it sound as if you really mean what you say and are not merely reading a script. (A word of caution here – you can only do this is you know your subject well or you have prepared thoroughly.)

4. Fear of large audiences

If you are speaking to under a dozen, you can see their eyes and their faces and read how you’re doing. In larger groups – we often feel a ‘mass of humanity’ starring back at us in judgement. And if you see one person yawning you tend to think that everyone you can’t see clearly is also bored.

Remember, even the largest audience is made up of individuals. Try to talk to them individually, each one at a time.

BUT Fear can save your life

Finally Fear is not always bad, it can save your life – like avoiding a crash or falling off a cliff.

But remember that we need Big fears for big threats and only Little fears for little threats.

You can allow yourself a little fear when speaking in public – a little dose of adrenalin can up your excitement factor – but let’s not get carried away, it’s not actually a life and death situation. Try to enjoy it!

About the author of this public speaking article

This article was written by Robin, one of Skillstudio’s consultant trainers. 

Robin is based in London, is an excellent trainer; and runs many of our public speaking training sessions (from 1-2-1 coaching through to Masterclasses).  

You can read his training bio here. 
 

Public speaking coaching

For most people, becoming more successful at public speaking is a relatively slow and painful process with many never really achieving their true potential.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.  

You can quickly develop these skills with Skillstudio through expert coaching and practice.  And by enhancing your public speaking skills you will be able to develop a much stronger influence on your audiences and reap the business success that goes with that.

To get some coaching in public speaking, click on one of the links below:-

Public Speaking Coaching  - 121 coaching
Public Speaking Courses – Open to members of the public
Public Speaking for Business - In-house training for companies and organisations

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of presentation skills and communication skills, including public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

Four common fears about public speaking. is one of many articles from Skillstudio Limited providing expert help, tips & advice on how to improve your business communication skills. See Skillstudio Help & Advice for the full list of articles.

When early man was attacked by wild animals, the body sent panic alarms to the neural pathways in the oldest part of the brain, the amygdala. When you are nervous, the amygdala, still assumes you are in physical danger and sends an electro-chemical alarm to ‘fight or flee’. This response is, of course, out of proportion to the ‘threat’ of public speaking but the body is only trying to protect you.

Seven Deadly Stages of Public Speaking Nerves

So this is literally what happens in the body the moment you stand up and speak in public:

Heart pounding?

1st : A message is sent to the Heart, to increase the heart rate and raise blood pressure.

Feeling light headed?

2nd : Another message is sent to the Lungs, to increase breathing for fighting or running.

But that energy has to go somewhere. We exhale too quickly causing an imbalance of carbon dioxide. As we are not in physical danger this is not used up so we end up hyperventilating, feeling light headed, with tingly cheeks and fingers. (Some people even faint completely – as Winston Churchill did in his Maiden speech in Parliament.)

Dry throat?

3rd : The amygdala shuts down the Salivary system. You are going to need loads of air to fight this wild animal, and you don’t want to choke on your own saliva. So now you have dry throat and mouth.

Got that sickly feeling?

4th : The amygdala deliberately draws blood away from the stomach – all blood is needed to give muscles extra fire power so there is no time for digestion. In fact it wants an empty stomach, intestines, bladder and bowel – and fast! After dinner speakers rarely enjoy their meal for this reason. Food doesn’t even taste normal at this time – often bitter and unappetising.

Eyes watering?

5th : Adrenalin is sent shooting to the eyes to find a quick escape route . Eyes are left darting around the room often staring at the ceiling or floor. We can behave like a child: “If I can’t see the Tiger, perhaps the Tiger can’t see me.” After all, it’s sensible to avoid eye contact with dominant, aggressive male Gorillas. These responses are primitive. So don’t beat yourself up when you avoid the audience and look at the floor – your subconscious thinks the audience is an aggressive Gorilla!

Mind going blank?

6th : At times of life threatening danger, the amygdala downgrades the importance of the brain. Running away is more important than thinking about running away! So whilst blood is surging into the muscles, it is ebbing away from the brain. Heroic people when interviewed after disasters often say, “I don’t remember much about it – it was all a blur.” Or an actor winning an Oscar proceeds to blurt out ecstatic nonsense about everybody from their cat to their cleaner.

Lost your voice?

7th and lastly : The amygdala also downgrades the importance of the voice. Presumably one would keep as quite as possible in the face of the Tiger.

Help is at hand

So there you are, standing up in front of a group of people, and your muscles start to shake, you feel sick, you can’t remember a word, your mouth goes dry, you can’t swallow and your voice stops working. Not great is it?!

Knowing the reasons why we feel panic and fear when speaking in public, can help us realise that it is not a failing in us – it is merely an animal response. A response that every other human ‘animal’ feels. We just have to learn how to cope with it – and how to use all that adrenalin to our advantage.

About the author of this public speaking article

This article was written by Robin, one of Skillstudio’s consultant trainers. 

Robin is based in London, is an excellent trainer; and runs many of our public speaking training sessions (from 1-2-1 coaching through to Masterclasses).  You can read his training bio here. 

To get some coaching in public speaking, click on one of the links below:-

Public Speaking Coaching  - 121 coaching
Public Speaking Courses – Open to members of the public
Public Speaking for Business - In-house training for companies and organisations

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of presentation skills and communication skills, including public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

Public Speaking Nerves is one of many articles from Skillstudio Limited providing expert help, tips & advice on how to improve your business communication skills. See Skillstudio Help & Advice for the full list of articles.

• I’ll forget what I want to say
• The audience will be bored and fall asleep
• I’ll look like a quivering wreck
• Everyone will see my knees, hands, body shaking
• My voice will wobble uncontrollably
• I’ll get asked loads of questions that I don’t know the answer to
• I’ll start waffling off the point and lose track of what I am saying

Public Speaking Training can help you overcome your phobia

If you want some expert coaching to help you overcome your fear and enhance your public speaking skills then Skillstudio are there to help. We provide:-

Overcome Public Speaking Phobia
A 1-day public workshop for absolute beginners to presenting and public speaking held in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh & Glasgow.

Effective Presenting & Public Speaking
This 2-day Public intermediate level workshop is held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Advanced Public Speaking Coaching
This 2-day Public course is held regularly in Central London.

We can also run our public speaking courses for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe. We also offer 1-2-1 coaching in all aspects of public speaking throughout the UK.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you or your team.

Public Speaking Phobias

These negative thoughts automatically create an attitude of fear of failure towards speaking in public. It is this fear of failure that can often create a phobia towards public speaking. It is much easier to focus on the negative rather than the positive things that can happen when you have to deliver a speech in public. If you focus on negative thoughts however, you are more likely to convey these to your audience and this is not going to help you to feel more confident.

Creating positive thoughts

So, to avoid being trapped by your negative thoughts, you need to reverse your attitude and actively create some positive thoughts in you mind instead. You can do this by creating an inner dialogue with yourself – ie by saying some positive things over and over again in your head to help create a positive state of mind. Here are some examples of positive thoughts that you could consider:

• I have information that the audience needs to hear
• The audience will benefit from listening to me
• I have a strong passion for the topic of my speech
• The audience members would probably much prefer to listen to me than have to speak themselves

Controlling your anxiety when speaking in public

It’s important to acknowledge that you will inevitably feel nervous when you have to speak in public and this is very normal for most people. If you acknowledge this you can then work on some techniques to help you calm yourself down before a presentation. It’s important to try to relax before a presentation and although easier said than done, you can achieve this with some simple techniques.

One of the easiest ways to help you relax is to focus on your breathing before you start to speak. Think of the rhythm of your breath as a controlling mechanism. The more you slow down your breathing pattern and make it more sustained, the greater control you will have over your nerves and anxiety. We tend to release tension when we breathe out – so the longer you sustain the out breath, the more you will release hidden tensions in your body.

Visualise your success when public speaking

We have looked at the kinds of negative thoughts that tend to creep into our minds when we think about having to speak in public and how it’s important to transfer these negative thought into positive ones. One way to help to do this is to actually visualise yourself delivering a successful speech before you do it. The mind finds it difficult to distinguish between reality and strong imagination and so the more you can actively imagine the event beforehand eg imagine -

• Filling the room with your voice
• Feeling strong and confident in front of your audience
• Observing the audience’s faces – listening to your every word

the more you will feel you have already been successful. By repeatedly talking through these things in your head, you will develop a belief that you can actually be successful.

Fear of failure

We have looked at how having a fear of failure can result in a phobia towards speaking in public. It’s important though to realise that many confident and successful speakers have initially experienced these fears but have learnt to use the techniques we have discussed to help them overcome them.

So when you are next presented with an opportunity to speak in public, try to use the techniques we have discussed:

• Creating positive thoughts
• Controlling anxiety
• Visualising success

They will help you to control your anxieties and speak with more confidence. The more you practice them and gain valuable public speaking experience, the more you will grow in confidence and reduce your phobia.

Public speaking coaching will overcome your phobia

For most people, becoming more successful at public speaking is a relatively slow and painful process with many never really overcoming their phobia and achieving their true potential.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.  

You can quickly build confidence and develop these skills with Skillstudio through expert coaching and practice.  And by enhancing your public speaking skills you will be able to develop a much stronger influence on your audiences and reap the business success that goes with that.

To get some coaching in public speaking, click on one of the links below:-

Public Speaking Coaching  - 121 coaching
Public Speaking Courses – Open to members of the public
Public Speaking for Business - In-house training for companies and organisations

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of presentation skills and communication skills, including public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

How to Overcome Public Speaking Phobia is one of many articles from Skillstudio Limited providing expert help, tips & advice on how to improve your business communication skills. See Skillstudio Help & Advice for the full list of articles.

Public Speaking Training can help you overcome your fear

If you want some expert coaching to help you overcome your fear and enhance your public speaking skills then Skillstudio are there to help. We provide:-

Overcome Fear of Public Speaking
A 1-day public workshop for absolute beginners to presenting and public speaking held in Central London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh & Glasgow.

Effective Presenting & Public Speaking
This 2-day Public intermediate level workshop is held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Advanced Public Speaking Coaching
This 2-day Public course is held regularly in Central London.

We can also run our public speaking courses for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe. We also offer 1-2-1 coaching in all aspects of public speaking throughout the UK.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you or your team.

What is Public Speaking Fear?

You may be asked to give a speech at a colleague’s leaving do or speak at the next team meeting.  If you suffer from public speaking anxiety and fear, the typical reactions you may have probably include:

• Shallow breath
• Shaky voice
• Sweaty palms
• Sick feeling in your stomach
• Dry throat
• Voice drying up

However, help is at hand and there are some simple techniques you can employ to help you overcome these problems.

Preparation is key to reducing public speaking fear

Firstly it’s important to be prepared rather than try to ‘wing it’ on the day. It’s easy to put off planning your speech since the mere thought of speaking in public terrifies you. But with a little preparation beforehand this can only help you to feel more confident when you next have to speak in public.

Clear Structure

Make sure that you have a clear and simple structure to your speech. To do this following the following steps

Have a strong opening

Start with three short sentences that are easy to remember. This will help you to avoid unnecessary ‘um’s’ and ‘err’s’ when you first start speaking and are at your most nervous.

Three key points

Restrict your speech to three main points as this will give you a clear focus that is easier to remember and easier for your audience to follow.

Have a strong ending

Decide on your final sentence and learn it off by heart so that you will finish on a strong note and avoid sounding apologetic.

Controlling your nerves

There are some simple but highly effective techniques that can help you to control your nerves before you start speaking.

Breathe

When you are anxious about speaking in public it is easy to start off too quickly as the nerves take hold. To help calm down, take two deep breaths before you start to speak – focusing on breathing out for as long as possible, to help you breathe in a slower and deeper way.

Think positively

Before you start to speak think about the effect you want to have on your audience – what you will do for your audience. Create a short sentence to summarise this and say it in your mind. This will help you to create a positive mind-set – and control your fears since your focus will switch from how you are feeling to what you want to do for your audience.

Speaking confidently in public

When you are speaking in public, you may feel that your voice doesn’t sound the same as usual because you are quieter, more hesitant and less fluent. One of the best ways to help overcome this problem is to make a conscious effort to slow down when you first start speaking. If you speak too quickly, which is the natural tendency, you are more likely to fall into bad habits. So, slow down by taking time over your words and pause at the end of your first sentence. This actually allows your audience to take in what you have just said and it wont sound slow to them.

Taking the fear out of public speaking

We have looked at some simple techniques to help you control your fears:

• Prepare your speech using a clear structure
• Breathe to help control your nerves
• Think positively about what you will do for your audience
• Speak more slowly

By incorporating these techniques into your public speaking, you will start to feel more in control of what you are saying and this will help you reduce your fears and increase your confidence.

Public speaking coaching

For most people, becoming more successful at public speaking is a relatively slow and painful process with many never really achieving their true potential.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.  

You can quickly develop these skills with Skillstudio through expert coaching and practice.  And by enhancing your public speaking skills you will be able to develop a much stronger influence on your audiences and reap the business success that goes with that.

To get some coaching in public speaking, click on one of the links below:-

Public Speaking Coaching  - 121 coaching
Public Speaking Courses – Open to members of the public
Public Speaking for Business - In-house training for companies and organisations

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of presentation skills and communication skills, including public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking is one of many articles from Skillstudio Limited providing expert help, tips & advice on how to improve your business communication skills. See Skillstudio Help & Advice for the full list of articles.

The reality for many executives is that speaking in public to a large outside audience can still be a somewhat daunting afair no matter how experienced you are in normal business presentations. 

Public Speaking Coaching can really make a difference

If you’re a company executive and want some expert coaching to help you enhance your public speaking then Skillstudio are there to help. We provide:-

Executive Public Speaking Coaching
Half day of full day, 121 coaching in business presenting by an expert trainer. Held throughout the UK on a date and time to suit you and tailored exactly to your personal requirements. These sessions can be held in many locations throughout the UK.

Effective Presenting & Public Speaking
This 2-day Public workshop is held regularly in Central London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Advanced Public Speaking Coaching
This 2-day Public course is held regularly in Central London.

We can also run our public speaking courses for your organisation on an in-house basis at your premises throughout the UK and Europe.

Call us today on 08456 444 150 if you want to discuss how our training can help you or your team.

Nerves at the beginning of your speech?

You might well discover that nerves play a significant part at the beginning of your speech. 

However this is just exactly the time when you need to be in total control and make the right first impression on your audience.  You need to ensure that the first few lines of the speech are delivered confidently and clearly and provide you with the optimum launch for the rest of your speech.

If this is an issue for you, then learning a number of strategies to take full control of your nerves can make a great difference.  And a short session with an experienced coach on a 121 basis will help you address this.

Voice coaching for the executive speech

As an executive public speaker, you need to influence your audience through the power of your voice. 

However, even if you are an experienced public speaker, you may not be making the most of your voice when you speaking to the audience.  You may feel passionately about your material but this may not be being effectively conveyed through your voice and so your audience is left uninspired.  Three of the most common reasons why this happens are:

• Your voice might lack variety
• You might be speaking too quickly
• or you might lack energy and conviction

However, the above faults can all be quickly addressed by working with an expert coach. 

Executive coaching in body language

To make a strong impact on your audience, it’s equally as important as an executive speaker to have a strong presence and use your body language effectively.  This can be especially so when you are on the stage in front of a large audience.

Your stance says a lot about you – so make sure that it is strong, relaxed and engaging.  Negative body language can have an adverse effect on the way your audience sees you and this can reduce your overall credibility. 

Three key areas related to body language that can impact your executive speeches are:-

• Using eye contact
  We build rapport with people when we make eye contact with them.  So you need to make sure you share eye contact with your audience when you are speaking to them – even when there are hundreds in the audience.  A good public speaking coach will show you how to do this. 
• Using gestures
  Gesture can help you to enhance your messages and make them more powerful.  It will reflect in your voice which will sound more dynamic and the overall impact will be more powerful and memorable to your audience.
• Using space to command your audience
  The way you use your space when you present says a lot about you.  The executive presenter who is at ease in their space conveys a strong presence and command over their audience. 

The language of persuasion

The words used in your speech is also a key factor in helping the executive fully engage with and influence your audience. 

To convey your message in a persuasive way you also need to speak in a way that’s easy for your audience to listen to you.  You need to ensure that your presentation uses the spoken word rather than just a written piece of text.  For example:

• Be informal
  Don’t use overly formal grammar that is technically correct and works well for the written word but will sound stilted to your audience when read out. 
• Be clear
  Highlight key points to your audience so that they become clear and so that your audience will remember them. 
• Be creative
  Use creative techniques which help engage with your audience’s imagination and help them to remember your message. 

Executive public speaking coaching

Being successful when you speak in public is not rocket science.  Its simply a number of key skills.

And you can develop these skills through coaching and practice.  By enhancing your public speaking skills you will be able to develop a much stronger influence on your audiences and reap the business success that goes with that.

To get some executive coaching in public speaking, click on one of the links below:-

Executive Public Speaking Coaching  - 121 coaching
Public Speaking Courses – Open to members of the public
Public Speaking for Business - In-house training for companies and organisations

Skillstudio also offer public courses, 1-2-1 coaching and in-house training in many aspects of presentation skills and communication skills, including public speaking, vocal skills and body language awareness.

We hope you found this article useful

Please use the buton below to bookmark this page as a favourite, email it or share it with friends or colleagues.

Executive Public Speaking Coaching is one of many articles from Skillstudio Limited providing expert help, tips & advice on how to improve your business communication skills. See Skillstudio Help & Advice for the full list of articles.