If you are afraid to speak in public, don’t feel bad you are not alone. Over 40% of the adult population is. In fact, fear of speaking in public is the highest ranked fear that all people have. Mostly this is due to a feeling that you won’t succeed but rather fail and be ridiculed or laughed at and no one wants that. Some people avoid it at all cost, including the potential to succeed or excel in their field. It doesn’t have to be this way for you. We’ve got some tips for you here which, if implemented should help you tremendously.

For most people, the most common place where they need to speak in public is in the workplace. Usually, you either need to inform your coworkers of the project you are working on or you need to sell an idea across to people higher up in the company. Don’t panic yet. If you take some time to plan it out you’ll do ok. Preparation is key.

One of the most important things before speaking in front of others is to know your material thoroughly. Make sure you’ve covered all areas of what you will be discussing. If you know what you are talking about, you won’t feel as nervous or flustered. Try to anticipate what questions others may have and be ready with an answer. If it’s at all complicated, try to think of different ways to say it, so everyone will understand. Diagrams may help you here to illustrate your point. Once you’ve done this, practice out loud somewhere by yourself if possible at first then in front of a friend or coworker later if it’s important.

If it’s appropriate you may want to hand out either an outline or a few illustrations. It may help to have some eyes looking at these occasionally and not all of them looking at you all the time.

As much as it’s humanly possible, try to relax. Breathe deeply. Since most people fear public speaking, others know it’s not easy and will be rooting for you not against you. If you are the type that can make small jokes, you can try one if appropriate. It helps your audience to relax as well.

If someone asks you a questions you don’t know or aren’t sure about, you can say something like “that’s a good question” and think for a few seconds, then if you know the answer great, answer it, and if you don’t you can say something like “I’m not sure about that, I think Bill might be able to answer that for you”. Make sure you name someone who you think would definitely know the answer. Other wise, you can tell them you will check into it and get back to them.

Arrive early to your meeting or presentation to make sure everything is there that you need and working properly.

Don’t say anything about being nervous to your audience, some people may not notice and you don’t want to bring it to their attention if they don’t. You may do better than you expect.

Try not to speak to fast, semi slow and clear is the way to go. Try not to speak in a monotone voice either. Add some inflection to your speech.

Keep things simple and to the point. Try not to drag on if at all possible. You don’t want to bore your audience.

A lot of people in sports use visualization to imagine themselves accomplishing their goal. This can work for you too. Visualize yourself succeeding with your public speaking.

Public speaking is a valuable tool you can learn and use throughout your life. The more you practice it and gain confidence the better you will get.

Interview with Jim Burns and Jack Valenti (1982)

People learn how to tell lies at an early age and become more skilled at doing so as they get older. Not surprisingly, it is not easy to detect lies. However, some people give away verbal and nonverbal signs of lying without realizing it. Here, then, are some of the best signs to look for to detect a lie.

1. A change in the pitch and tone of the voice may indicate a lie. Undue tension in the voice and talking way too fast are defensive reactions that may show that the speaker is not truthful.

2. A person who stammers and pauses excessively may be trying to gather their thoughts and think of a plausible story. Garbled speech also shows that the speaker may not believe what they are saying.

3. Instead of answering a question with an immediate truthful answer, a liar may echo back the question that was just asked. The person may be stalling for time in order to think of a story.

4. When a person adds too many details to a story it may indicate that it is a lie. When telling the truth most people just relate the bare essentials rather than make an effort to remember lots of details.

5. Overreacting can be a bad sign. When a person becomes overly angry and defensive they may be trying to force a person to believe their story. It may indicate that their story is weak and unbelievable.

6. By contrast, acting shocked and confused and playing dumb when asked questions is also a bad sign. The person may be trying to divert attention from themselves and to gain time to think of a believable response.

7. If the questioner changes the subject abruptly the liar may readily go with the change. However, if the person is telling the truth they may want to stick with the line of questioning until the issue is resolved.

8. The accused may become the accuser, pointing fingers and trying to divert attention elsewhere.

9. A lot of face touching, especially with fingers that partially cover the mouth, is also a bad sign. It’s like the person is trying to cover the lie.

10. Fidgeting and generally looking uncomfortable also is a sign that the speaker is not comfortable with what they are saying.

Verbal signs of telling a lie are generally more reliable than nonverbal signs. Nonverbal cues are more easily controlled by the experienced liar and therefore often not very useful. A few other nonverbal signs include avoidance of eye contact and frequent blinking. Also, raised eyebrows or looking upward may be signs of dishonesty, though it is important to remember that these nonverbal signs may be misleading.

It is always difficult to detect lies using verbal and nonverbal clues. The tips above and especially combinations of the tips may help a person to detect a story that isn’t totally honest.

Public speaking is a challenge in and of itself, let alone being effective at it. However, if you are going to make a speech you should strive to make it an effective one.

Public speaking is both an art and a science. There are specific steps that can be taken to command attention and results. A scientific means of presenting your speech will have a lasting effect on your audience.

The following is a precise procedure that will enable you to make an impact in the lives of those listening to your speech.

First and foremost be properly prepared. Do your home work! Make sure that you have content and that your content is worth knowing. Once you have completed ample research for your topic familiarize your self with the material.

An absolute must is that your topic is presenting only one main idea. Your whole speech will be arguing for this one specific topic. If you have more than one idea you take the chance that your listeners will not remember what you said.

One way to know whether or not you have a proper grasp on your subject is, “Could you have a Q&A session after your speech and adequately answer their questions”?

Next, you will want to organize your findings in a logical sequence. It must flow for your audience to be interested, understand, and retain it. Your organization of your points should continuously support the big idea. Providing evidence and reasoning are a strong part of the persuasive process!

Once you have completed the previous tasks you are well on your way to an effective speech. Now, it is time to consider going to the podium to present your message.

Write out your opening and closing remarks. You want to be sure that you know how you are going to get started and how you will end. I don’t suggest that you write out your whole speech, but do write out these two areas.

At this time you should have the opening remarks on paper, the outline of the message, and the ending written out. Now begin to practice your speech. Determine if you are able to complete the speech within the allotted time given and/or you have enough material to take up the time frame.

People love real life stories! At this point you have a feel for the speech, now, it is time to add some illustrations or life stories to each point. Illustrations will enable your audience to relate to your subject and remember it. After you have added your life stories practice it again to get a feel for your speech and to check the timing again.

You are ready to present your message. If at all possible take only one sheet of paper with you. If you take too many notes you will have a tendency to read or pay too much attention to your notes.

Speak, don’t read. Present your material in a conversational manner, but be sure to speak up so that everyone is able to hear you. Speak to the furthest person away from you. But ensure that you are giving the whole audience eye contact. It is not necessary to look everyone in the eye, but you must be scanning them so that they get a feel that you are conversing with them.

Be declarative, even, firm in your close. This will provide a means of impact and challenge to your listeners.

It is time to wait for the results of your presentation!

Most of us believe parts of life are inherently stressful. In fact, most of us have been taught to believe that life as a whole is very stressful. To deal with any type of stress effectively, you must first understand that life itself is NOT inherently stressful. Thousands of human beings have learned how to speak in front of groups with little or no stress at all. Many of these people were initially terrified to speak in public.

Their knees would shake, their voices would tremble, their thoughts would become jumbled – you know the rest. Yet they learned to eliminate their fear of public speaking completely. You are no more or less human than they are. If they can conquer the fear of public speaking, so can you. It just takes the right guiding principles, the right understanding and the right plan of action to make this goal a reality.

Many of us have observed public speakers and thought to ourselves, “Wow, I could never be that smart, calm, witty, entertaining, polished – or whatever.” Well, I’ve got news for you – you don’t have to be brilliant or perfect to succeed. That is not what public speaking is all about. You can make mistakes, get tongue tied or even forget whole parts of your speech and still be successful.

It all depends on how you and your audience define “success”. One of the biggest secrets to successful public speaking is understanding that your audience does NOT expect perfection. The essence of public speaking is to give your audience something of value. That’s all there is to it. If they walk away feeling better about themselves, feeling happy, they will consider their time with you worthwhile.

You don’t have to deliver mountains of facts or details to give your audience what they truly want. Many studies have shown that people remember very few of the facts or information that speakers convey. Remember, all your audience wants from you is to walk away with one or two key points that will make a difference to them.

While it may seem paradoxical, the best way to succeed as a public speaker is not to consider yourself a public speaker at all. Just go out there armed with a little knowledge and a few main points and be yourself. That’s all there is to it. Of course you may need to practice. Just keep throwing yourself into the arena, and in no time at all your confidence will come to the surface.

by Sandra Schrift
http://www.schrift.com

When you need to get up and speak do you feel butterflies in your stomach? Sweaty palms? Dry mouth? Shaking knees and hands? You are not alone. 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.

Here are a few techniques to help you reduce your nervousness and present like a pro.

1. Before you begin, drink some tepid water, take a few deep breaths and visualize your success.

2. The audience wants you to succeed – so just treat them as your friends and speak in a conversational manner. You don’t use notes when you speak to your friend, so don’t use them now. At the most, you may use some note cards that include some key words for you to remember.

3. You can relax yourself as well as your audience, if you remember to SMILE! Everyone is more at ease when they see your smile. Better yet, find some humor in the situation and get everyone to laugh, including you.

4. Practice, practice, practice. Getting familiar with your material by speaking often This really helps reduce your tension.

5. Find ways to speak – volunteer as a committee chair, lead a meeting, attend networking meetings so you can introduce yourself often and get comfortable hearing the sound of your voice and words.

6. Then ask yourself the big question: “What’s the worst thing that could happen? No, you won’t faint, or , forget what you plan to say. Remember when you speak to any audience, it is about them, not you. So be present with them as you would when speaking to your friend.

7. A great way to calm yourself is to arrive early and greet people as they enter the room. This is a way to relax yourself and encourage others to feel friendly towards you before you even start your speech.

8. Think about what you are going to wear. Choose clothing that makes you look good and feel good. Most people delineate their thoughts visually and your audience will form an opinion about you after looking at you for 30 seconds. My mother always encouraged me to “dress up” before taking a final exam – she said, “If you want a high grade, then look the part.”

9. If you really want to be a masterful speaker, hire a speech coach . . . like me. No serious athlete or professional speaker would get very far without a coach.

10. And, finally, focus on having fun President Theodore Roosevelt said, “If you can’t find a way to make public speaking fun, why do it?”

Public speaking ranks right up there with death in terms of the things we are terribly afraid of. Whether it’s the fear of being watched closely by others, or the insecurity and self-conscious feeling of slipping up during the presentation, these six tips will help you give a polished, professional speech that you (and your audience) can be proud of!

1. Know your audience. This is the single best piece of advice for delivering a presentation that really hits home. What are there interests? Their backgrounds? Why are they coming to hear you speak or present? What ideas do you have to share with them? Approaching your speech as more of a “me-to-you” discussion rather than a full-blown broadcast will make it more manageable (and less stressful) and easier on you.

2. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your speech? What’s really at the heart of your presentation? By concentrating on the “end result” rather than slogging through the beginning, you can create a powerful punch that drives home your message instead of rambling on and losing your audience’s interest (or missing the point entirely!)

3. Share a story. In public speaking circles, this is called a “hook” – something that gets your audience’s attention and makes them sit up and listen. Start off by asking questions or sharing an experience you had. People like to be active, rather than passive listeners. By giving them something that they can identify with, you’ll find that these people are, in essence – just like you! And that makes giving a presentation a whole lot easier. Just be sure your story has a beginning, a point, and an ending. There’s nothing quite as bad as telling a story to an engaged audience and then forgetting why you told it!

4. If you’re selling a product, focus on the benefits instead of the features. People would much rather hear WHAT a product can do for them than HOW it does it. Narrow down your product’s features until you get to the core of how it solves a problem. If you need help with figuring out the difference between a feature and a benefit, ask yourself “So What?” For example, if you’re selling a vacuum cleaner that has a hypoallergenic filter, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself “so what?” The answer would be something like, “It picks up dust, mold and pet dander”. Again, “so what?” Answer, “You’ll feel relief from runny nose and sneezing plus itchy, water eyes.” Now THAT’s a benefit!

5. Don’t lean too heavily on media to make your message clear. Powerpoint presentations are great for making specific points, but they can be overwhelming – or downright boring. Instead, give your audience something to DO by providing them with fill-in-the-blank flip charts or “team activities”. These help reinforce and emphasize your message in ways that a computer presentation simply cannot.

6. Above all, make sure your speech ends in a way that reiterates the beginning. Too often, speakers get carried away with the details and leave their audiences asking, “What was the point of all that?” People naturally digest information in “chunks”, so focus on the big picture rather than all the pieces. If the details are just as important, save it for an after-speech handout that the audience can take with them and read over at their leisure.

If you keep these six tips in mind, you’ll not only have an easier time overcoming your fear of public speaking, but you’ll have a very appreciative audience who will in turn be more receptive and eager to try your product or service. Go get ‘em!