One off the best way to overcome fear of public speaking is to be afraid and speak anyway. As dumb as this seems, it’s the true if you ever want to curb your fear of public speaking, and it’s possibly the best reliable way to gain confidence in speaking. Be afraid, be nervous, be hesitant… and I’m talking from personal experience…but just do it anyway.
Nine out ten people won’t be good public speakers after the first few times, so don’t expect to be. Simply make it a goal to do it and finish. Once you’ve done it a few times, and then you realize it hasn’t killed you, you’ll become less afraid to do it the next time. Keep doing it, eventually you’ll start to get good at it and may even learn to enjoy it. Personally, I don’t think I will ever start enjoying public speaking. Overcoming my fear yes but enjoying it …I don’t think so!
I think the #1 reason people fear public speaking is that they expect too much of themselves the very first time. It’s like being afraid of flying an Airplane when you’ve had no formal instructional training. Of course you’re going to fail. If for some reason the pilot calls you up to the cockpit and says to you “ land this plane,†it’s a sure bet you’ll crash if you try it. But at least when you fail at public speaking, it isn’t normally fatal. So don’t be so hard on yourself. If you don’t ace it the first time…that’s ok! Failure is actually one of the best ways to learn.
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