Public Speaking Ideas - Self-Help Strategies For Speaking In Public

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Public speaking is said to be the number one fear among most people. However there are public speaking ideas you can use to help you to overcome those blockages you experience whenever you're in a public speaking scenario.

It should be recognized that public speaking can take many forms: you may find yourself in front of 12,000 people in an auditorium, in front of 50 people at an event, in front of 10 people at a workshop or in front of your mate in a bar.

Whatever scenario you're in, as soon as you speak out loud to anyone but yourself you're speaking in public. It should also be remembered that as soon as you speak out loud to one person you're broadcasting. Whatever you say can not be unsaid. It is now out in the public domain.

These considerations can sometimes add to the fear we feel, as we become conscious of saying the wrong thing, or saying the right thing in the wrong way.

So one way of overcoming this self consciousness is to imagine yourself in front of individual groups of people either giving a speech or just talking about any subject. This technique is most effective if the pictures you see are as vivid as possible.

Whilst envisioning these scenarios use the following public speaking ideas to ease the pressure:

1. Observe how you are responding

2. Note down each of the individual blocks as you come across them. Eg dry mouth; not thinking clearly; forgetting your words; hot sweats etc

3. Once you've noted down each of the symptoms, go through each of them and use a combination of acceptance, affirmation and relaxation to help yourself deal with the blockage (see below)

4. Repeat the process of your imaginary public speaking engagements letting each of the blockages go in turn, and noticing how you feel each time. It should get easier and easier for you to imagine yourself speaking

How to use the acceptance, affirmation and relaxation process:

Acceptance

When you notice a blockage (eg dry mouth), the first step to dealing with it is to recognize it is there and in a sense embrace and welcome it because it is a part of you, and you have a deep and meaningful respect for yourself . Avoid moving on to dealing with the blockage until you can honestly say I accept the fact that public speaking gives me a dry mouth.

Affirmation

The next stage is giving yourself an affirmation that contrasts the symptom. So it may be that you say to yourself: if my mouth is dry it's OK, I just need to take a sip of water and I will be fine again . If you tend to forget your words when you speak in public, a useful affirmation may be: I speak from the heart, and am perfectly at ease with what I'm saying. I fear no silences, and I enjoy this experience of public speaking every time . Make sure the affirmations are not just empty words: try working on them until they 'speak' to you, and make you feel genuinely at ease.

Relaxation

Underpinning the acceptance and affirmation stages should be relaxation. Slow down your breathing: this has the effect of neutralizing your anxiety over time. Each time you breathe out consciously relax your whole body. You may not feel any different when you start doing this but keep going. Sometimes your body will calm itself down. If each time you think about speaking in public you slow your breathing and take long, slow, deep breaths, your mind will begin to associate public speaking with relaxation rather than anxiety.

The main thing with these simple techniques is to practice them as often as possible. The more often you can put yourself into fictitious scenarios, and the more often you can relax your body while doing it, the less daunting real life speaking engagements will seem to you.

By taking the time to put these techniques into practice, you may be surprised, next time, how easy it is to speak in public.

For more public speaking ideas go to: http://www.stimulus.uk.com and arrange your free life coaching consultation.

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