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Many people say that speaking in public is their biggest fear.
Why is this? It seems the biggest reason is a lack of self-confidence. And what are we not confident in? Well, several things. First, the subject matter. Many people who fear public speaking are not prepared. At some point in the past, they may have had to go before a class in school and talk about something, but they were not prepared. Even if it was just to give an opinion on a book or movie in class, they had not had time to prepare their thoughts. Second, we may fear the audience. Will they be receptive and listen or grunt and laugh at us? Therefore, for both of these, preparation is the key.
There is an old saying among lawyers in court, never ask a question of a witness for which you don’t already know the answer. Above all, they don’t want to be blindsided with new information to hurt their case. The same is true in public speaking – know everything beforehand. Have your topic fully prepared in your mind. That is, know the audience, know the room, have answers to questions ready and be able to manage the audience to your plan and goals.
But with preparation and persistence, you can overcome your fear and be a good speaker. Try the Mindhealth program Self Hypnosis for Fear of Public Speaking. Also consider that more self-confidence can always help. In short, realize that of all the people you see speaking in public, the best ones did all these things. The worst ones were unprepared. No one ever said you had to do it cold, without planning and preparation.
