Fear of public speaking. Causes of fear of public speaking

Before entering the stage or the pulpit, you are nervous. Your mouth dries up, the microphone in your hands treacherously trembles, and you forget what you wanted to say. All arguments seemed to be swept out of my head with a broom. If these experiences are familiar to you to some extent, you are not alone. Most people have a fear of public speaking. If there are lucky people in the world who speak before an audience without trepidation, then these are such rare exceptions that they are unknown to us. The good news is that fear of public speaking can be overcome.

Causes of Fear

Everyone is worried before public speaking, this is a natural reaction to an unusual situation. But for some people, fear turns into a phobia: the heartbeat quickens, it gets dark in the eyes, a person may lose consciousness before going on stage. Sometimes the causes of a phobia lie in an innate predisposition: if you are an anxious, suspicious person, a perfectionist, then the likelihood that the fear of public speaking will turn into a phobia is quite high. However, much more often you have to deal with the consequences of upbringing. If you have strict parents who punished you for the slightest offense, if you were often shamed as a child, then you will be afraid to speak in front of an audience. You can overcome this fear - with the help of special techniques and practice, but if the fear of public speaking has acquired a pathological form, and you are literally losing consciousness with horror, it is better not to try to cope with the problem on your own, but to consult a psychotherapist.

Ways to deal with the fear of public speaking

The universal answer to the question of how to overcome the fear of public speaking is only one: practice. The more often you step into the pulpit or take the stage, the more confident you will feel. But if we are talking about a lecture or presentation that is already tomorrow, and you do not find a place for yourself with excitement, use several ways to overcome fear. Look for the one that works best for you personally.

Know your subject

You must know more than you are going to say in a public lecture or presentation. This advice is especially relevant in the academic environment, when the audience is knowledgeable, qualified people. They will have questions, they will criticize you. A good lecturer always knows more than is necessary for a particular case. But it is possible to collect all the information on the subject not only out of good faith - there are more prosaic considerations. While you are busy searching and analyzing information, there is no time to wind yourself up. By mastering the subject, you will not be so worried and will be ready for questions from the audience.

Calm down yourself

Paradoxically, to overcome the fear of public speaking, you do not have to fight it. Yes, you are worried and that's okay. Studies have shown that the best speakers are those who feel a little excitement before entering the hall. Of course, your excitement may be strong, but trying to drown it out at any cost will only increase stress. Imagine the worst case scenario. For most people, the opposite methods help to cope with the fear of public speaking better than auto-training and trying to tune in a positive way. So imagine the worst possible scenario, and think about how the situation can be corrected. A plan in case of complete failure will take the pressure off, because the worst will already happen in your head. If it does not help, aggravate your fears to the point of absurdity. For example: you will faint in front of your Chinese partners, fail the presentation, and they will shoot all the pandas out of frustration, and then arrange the Third World War. In situations of extreme nervous tension, the method of bringing to the point of absurdity helps to look at your fear of public speaking from the outside and realize that life will not collapse due to the fact that you stumble during a presentation. I prefer to use physical activity to calm down. Sports exercises, walks on the eve of a crucial event help to clear your head and relieve tension. If fear covers just before going to the audience, take a quick step, sit down - translate nervous tension into physical activity, and the stress will recede.

disillusionment

One of the illusions that causes a strong fear of public speaking is that the audience is against you. It happens that the listeners are really against the speaker, for example, if you are speaking in front of competitors, opponents or colleagues who do not like you for personal reasons. But this is an exception, and a rare one, in 99.9% of cases the public is on your side. Nobody wants a speaker to fail, it is common for people in the audience to experience Finnish shame in such cases. So relax: no one wants to “fill you up”. Concentrate on benevolent gestures, attention from people in the audience.

Get ready for a positive outcome

I remember advising you to act on the contrary, but sometimes the best way to overcome your fear of public speaking is to think about its purpose. Awareness of the goal, anticipation of the result inspires, helps to tune in to a positive mood and feel more confident.

Use your breath to fight fear

To get rid of the binding fear, use breathing. It is difficult to manage emotions: they are chaotic, changeable, irrational. But, fortunately, our feelings are closely connected with the reactions of the body, strive for harmony with them, and the body is much easier to control. Excitement makes breathing shallow and frequent, so breathe deeply and smoothly. This not only relaxes, but also helps to even out the voice. Before the performance, take 5 minutes to exercise: alternate between a smooth deep breath and a sharp exhalation to overcome fear. And don't forget: the more you perform, the more confident you become. So be prepared to step over the fear and start talking.

Public speaking often causes excitement and anxiety. What if I forget something? Feeling overwhelmed and unable to deal with my emotions? Can't answer questions? Will my speech be of no interest to the audience?

Many people think that only timid and shy people are afraid of speaking in public. But according to oratory, in fact, almost everyone goes through such experiences. Even many experienced public speakers get excited when they go out to speak on a new topic or in front of an unfamiliar audience. Surprising as it may sound, the fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias in the world (according to statistics, the fear of public speaking ranks first and second in different countries).

Any person experienced excitement, and sometimes even fear, if necessary, to make a report, make a presentation, deliver a speech at a meeting, a toast at a festive event, or recite a poem at an amateur competition. Depending on the importance of the event, on the audience in front of which to speak, the excitement can manifest itself in varying degrees. The pulse at such moments quickens, hoarseness, tremors appear (in the hands, knees, voice), the tongue stiffens, and sometimes even the face and neck become covered with red spots. Linking several words into a meaningful text seems to be an impossible task. Where to put your hands? Eyes to the ceiling or to the floor? How to overcome the fear of public speaking and cope with anxiety?

Fundamentals of dealing with fear:

1. Practice is the most effective way. To get rid of fear, you need to constantly overcome it. Approximately after the fifth or sixth (regular!) performance in front of the public, the fear will gradually begin to subside. Practice, practice and more practice. Take every opportunity to gain public speaking skills.

2. Preparation for the performance. The best way to reduce your fear of public speaking is to prepare for it. For a successful presentation, you need to know the topic of the report well. The prepared material can be shown to other people so that there are no doubts about its quality.

You can rehearse your speech in advance (in front of a mirror, listener), having thought over the pace of speech, movements, facial expressions, etc. The more confident you are in your knowledge, the less you will worry about saying something wrong and in the end be in an awkward position. It is the lack of confidence in their knowledge that keeps many people from performing in front of a large audience.

3. Give up the idea that you always have to be perfect. Most people are afraid of public speaking out of fear of making a mistake in front of everyone. This anxiety further increases the likelihood of errors. And even professional speakers are not immune from them. Ask yourself: "What is the worst thing that will happen if I make a mistake?" A mistake will not result in a death sentence. Remember: you won't be able to please everyone anyway. About 5% of the audience will still remain dissatisfied. There's nothing you can do about it, it's the law of life, so is it necessary to waste your nerves on this?

4. Appearance. Try to look good while performing. First of all, for yourself. This is where the next psychological moment comes into play. For example, a girl has an "arrow" on her pantyhose. She thinks about it, worries. Let 90% of people do not see her, but the girl knows about it. These thoughts do not give her confidence. Make sure that your clothes and shoes do not cause you internal discomfort and do not distract your attention during the performance.

4. If possible, take a training or course in public speaking

Methods of dealing with fear immediately before the performance:

1. Quickly move your jaw back and forth, this will help relax the facial nerves so that your face does not resemble an ancient theater mask.

2. Vigorously shake your brushes, move your fingers, stretch your palms. This gymnastics helps to remove the paralyzing effect of excitement, stimulates the speech apparatus; your reaction speed and eloquence are noticeably increased.

3. Walk vigorously, wave your arms. Physical activity helps relieve stress.

4. Move at a calm pace. Stretch your arms up without lifting your heels off the floor, stretch and throw your body down, shake your arms.

When excited, reflexively increases the frequency of breathing (worried, we breathe often and superficially). And since everything in the human body is interconnected, with conscious control of breathing, the psychological state of a person also changes. By learning to control and manage your breathing, you will learn to control feelings such as excitement, fear, panic. Slow and deep breathing will help reduce anxiety. Practice the following breathing exercises before your performance:

1. "Square Breathing": inhale through your nose, pause, exhale through your nose, and pause again. Do the exercise in four counts (inhale for one, two, three, four, pause for one, two, three, four, etc.).

2. "Breathing on the count": inhale through the nose for one-two, exhale through the nose for three-four-five-six. Take a break. (3-5 breaths and exhalations). Then increase the duration of inhalations and exhalations. Inhale through your nose for one-two-three-four, exhale through your nose for five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-twelve (5-7 breaths).

3. "Exhale through the mouth": inhale through the nose for one-two-three, exhale through the mouth for five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-twelve (5-7 breaths and exhalations). We always speak on the breath. Speaking, it is better to inhale through the nose, and we, one way or another, exhale through the mouth. The longer our exhalation, the stronger, more melodic and without interruption we will be able to speak. It is important to learn to exhale more slowly than usual.

4. If you catch your breath, take a few deep breaths while exhaling any words with the vowel "y". For example: wow, circle, fluff ...

If you don't know where to put your hands. Before the start of the performance, the arms are in a natural position along the body or slightly bent at the elbows and slightly pressed to the body. During the speech, you can put your hands behind your back, on a table or podium. It is not advisable to cross your arms, close your hands, keep in your pockets. You can pick up some object (pen, book, sheet with your notes), but do not make unnecessary manipulations with the object. It is better to hold the object with one hand so that the other remains free.

In case of increasing anxiety during the performance, any movement will help. You can walk around, pick up something, a microphone, a visual aid. Come up with a reason for applause and applaud along with the audience.

We hope you find these tips helpful. Whoever wants to stop being afraid should start performing. It's only hard the first five times. Arm yourself with knowledge and gain experience in speaking, improve your oratory. And each time the discomfort will be replaced by the pleasure of a job well done. Try and find what works for you.

Sweaty palms. Rapid pulse. You know this feeling. Whether you have five or fifty people in front of you, public speaking is a painful ordeal for most people. Many of us suffer from an intense fear of being in public. Every time we have to give a speech in front of a more or less large audience, the stomach tightens and the throat constricts so much that it is impossible to utter a word.

Life is such that if you plan to present any information (and you most likely will have to), then you need to be able to effectively communicate your ideas, speaking to groups of people of various sizes. In trying to overcome the fear of public speaking, it is first necessary to understand why stage fright plays such a role in our lives.

We hope you enjoy reading this research on how to overcome this common phobia.

Stage Fright: What is it?

Often a few weeks before a presentation or speech, people begin to think: “What will happen if the audience does not like my speech, or someone thinks that I myself do not understand what I am talking about?”. All people are programmed to worry about their reputation almost more than about everything else in the world. Responsible for this are the “ancient” parts of our brain that control the reaction to threats to reputation, and it is extremely difficult for us to control them.

It was these responses to threats that Charles Darwin explored when he visited the serpentarium at the London Zoo. Darwin tried to remain completely calm, bringing his face as close as possible to the glass, behind which was an African viper, ready to pounce on him. However, every time the snake made a throw, he jumped back in fear. Darwin recorded his findings in his diary:

"My mind and will were powerless against the idea of ​​a danger that I had never experienced"

He concluded that his response to fear was an ancient mechanism, unaffected by the characteristics of modern civilization. This response, known as "fight or flight," is a natural process designed to protect our bodies from harm.

What happens in our nervous system?

When we think about negative consequences, a part of the brain called the hypothalamus activates and fires up the pituitary gland, which is responsible for producing adrenocorticotropic hormone. This hormone stimulates the adrenal glands, which leads to the release of adrenaline into the blood.

It is at this point that many of us feel a reaction to this process.

The muscles in your neck and back contract (forcing you to slouch and duck your head), distorting your posture, trying to force you into a "fetal position"

If you resist this by straightening your shoulders and lifting your head, your legs and arms will tremble as the muscles of your body already instinctively prepare for the impending attack.

Blood pressure rises and the digestive system stops to maximize the supply of nutrients and oxygen to vital organs. A consequence of the suspension of digestion is dry mouth and sensations of "butterflies" in the stomach.

Even the pupils dilate at this point, and so it becomes difficult for you to see up close (for example, to read the text of a speech), but it is easier to see far away (so you notice the expressions on the faces of the audience).

Your stage fright is also affected by three main aspects, which we will now look at.

1. Genes

Genetics play a huge role in how much you get nervous in social situations. For example, although John Lennon has performed on stage thousands of times, he has been known to throw up before each stage appearance.

Some of us are simply genetically programmed to feel more excited about public speaking than others. In addition, it is believed that the excitement before going on stage, despite great experience, is a sign of a really good artist or speaker who cares about the quality of his performance and the impression of the public.

2. Level of training

We've all heard the expression, "Repetition is the mother of learning." The main benefit of rehearsals is that with them comes experience, and with experience, the nervousness that spoils the performance decreases. In other words, public speaking anxiety will be less the more confident you are in your presentation.

To prove this thesis, in 1982 a group of psychologists studied pool players: in one case, they played alone, and in the other - in front of the audience.

“Strong players potted more balls when playing in front of spectators, while weaker players potted less in this case. Interestingly, strong players improved their game in the presence of spectators, compared to the game in the absence of them.

What follows from this: if you are perfectly familiar with your presentation, you will most likely perform even better in front of an audience than when you rehearse alone or in front of a friend.

3. Risks

If you are giving a presentation where business is at stake, or the whole country is watching you, chances are high that if you fail, your reputation will suffer in the most serious way.

The higher the stakes, the more likely you are to ruin your reputation if the performance fails. Because of this, even more adrenaline is produced, which is manifested by paralyzing fear and nervousness.

The scientists also investigated the impact of reputational threats in online communities. For example, many eBay sellers worry about their reputation as it directly affects their earnings. One negative review can discredit a seller's profile and lead to a drop in sales.

Incidentally, one study found that a good seller reputation on eBay adds 7.6% to the price of their items.

A good reputation protects us, but it also provokes the fear that one careless move can destroy the weight gained in the eyes of the audience and deprive you of opportunities in the future.

How to Overcome Stage Fright - 4 Step Guide

Now that we know where our fear of public speaking comes from, these 4 steps can help you improve your presentation skills and overcome stage fright.

1. Preparation

Those who often attend conferences have probably seen speakers who spent several minutes reviewing their slides before speaking. This is not the best way to prepare for a quality presentation. Have you ever seen a musician cramming his songs before a concert? Never!

Nor is it fair to an audience that gives you 10, 20, or 60 minutes of their attention.

What is the best way to prepare for a presentation?

About a week before, draw up an outline for your story (about 15-20 slides) reflecting on the content and using short captions and sketchy drawings. Here is an example of one such plan.

This will give you confidence, as you will know the main points you want to cover, and at the same time, the plan leaves plenty of room for rehearsal and fine-tuning of the slides.

Then write a plan for the speech itself, which will look something like this:

1. Introduction
2. main theme 1
3. thesis
4. example (something unique from my experience)
5. thesis
6. main theme 2
7. thesis
8. example (something unique from my experience)
9. thesis
10. main theme 3
11. thesis
12. example
13. thesis
14. conclusion

By formatting your presentation in the form of “thesis, example, thesis”, you can not only visualize the entire presentation as a whole, but also think deeply about what you are talking about in order to fully satisfy the needs of the audience.

First, write down the main themes and theses, then return to the introduction and end the story with a conclusion.

Start your introduction by talking about yourself and why your audience should listen to your presentation. Tell the audience directly how your performance will help them get in the mood.

Then rehearse each part of the speech (introduction, topic 1, topic 2, etc.) 5-10 times.

Then read your presentation aloud from beginning to end at least 10 times.

This may seem like overkill, but remember that Steve Jobs rehearsed for hundreds of hours before delivering his legendary Apple presentations.

2. How to rehearse like everything is “real”

During rehearsals, it is important to create the environment that you would expect during a real presentation. This eliminates the suspense and you'll spend less energy thinking about the details when you're on stage.

In 2009, a group of researchers found that when we have a lot of visual stimuli in front of our eyes, the brain only responds to one or two of them. This means that we can only focus on 1-2 subjects.

It follows that all you need to focus on is connecting with your audience and delivering a good story to them, not trying to remember which slide should go next and which part of the stage you should be standing on.

During rehearsals, turn on the same slides on the computer that will be in the present performance, use the same remote control and present the information every time as if everything is happening for real.

3. Breathe deeply, stretch and start

The most exciting thing about public speaking is those last minutes before going on stage. To overcome nervousness, you can go to the toilet, stretch your arms up and take three deep breaths and exit. This is what it looks like from the side:

This exercise activates the hypothalamus and stimulates the production of hormones responsible for relaxation.

By the way, scientists studied the effects of slow breathing on a group of 46 experienced musicians and found that one session of such breathing helps to cope with nervous excitement, especially for those musicians who are very worried.

The feelings associated with stage fright are usually strong not during the performance, but before it, so take a minute before going out to the audience, breathe and stretch.

4. After the presentation, schedule the following

If you want to excel in the art of public speaking, you need to do it more often. With each new performance, you will feel less nervous and more confident.

At first, perform at low-level events. For example, it could be a presentation to family members about the need to go on vacation. :)

Anything to practice speaking in front of other people.

Instead of a conclusion: how to get rid of "uh" and "mmm"

A couple of "uh" and "mmm" interjections won't ruin your presentation, but if they fill up every transition between slides or talking points, they can become distracting. In an attempt to abandon these interjections, you will have to suffer, especially if they have already become an integral part of your speech.

One way to get rid of these words is to use the splitting method, that is, to divide the presentation into short verbal bursts, between which there will be small pauses.

Public speaking can be intimidating, but it's an integral part of just about any career. I hope that understanding the causes of stage fright and using the suggested techniques will help you shine in your next presentation.

Public speaking is an art. But what if you not only do not know how to speak in front of an audience, but are also afraid of it? Glosophobia, or fear of public speaking (stage fright) is in second place in popularity after the fear of death. Its causes can have a variety of roots: from before childhood. But it is possible to overcome the glossophobia. And this was proved by such famous people as Jim Carrey, Benedict Cumberbatch, Megan Fox. Yes, they were stage fright too. And not only them.

The most popular reason is. If you have never spoken in public before, then the fear is quite understandable. It's just unfamiliar to you, it still lies outside your borders. There is no other option but to try, to force yourself to speak in public, to expand your comfort zone. Always challenge yourself to ask for public speaking yourself when you decide you need to learn how to do it. The more often you perform, the easier it will be. You will gain experience. As a result, fear will go away, only pleasant excitement and emotional upsurge will remain.

Another possible reason is an unsuccessful performance and, as a result, a psychotrauma. This is more difficult to deal with, but try to analyze previous experience. What exactly caused the failure? What exactly happened? Compare your old self with your old self. I think these people are clearly different. Perhaps the new you has all the tools to ensure that the previous experience does not repeat itself.

Thus, the cause of the fear of speaking can be:

• fixation on their experiences, on their fear;
• unsuccessful previous experience, memories of it;
• poor preparation for the performance;
• lack of experience.

Well, self-doubt, shyness, shyness, and much more completes the picture. What are the ingredients in your glosophobia cocktail?

How to speak in front of an audience

First of all, change your attitude towards fear. Stop seeing it as a barrier and start seeing it as an opportunity. The fact is that fear and excitement make our body work at full capacity at the psychophysiological level. We become faster, stronger, smarter and more agile. Realize that excitement accelerates the blood throughout the body, due to which you can analyze information faster, speak faster, and choose words faster and more accurately. You can be much more productive if you let your worry help you instead of treating it with even more fear.

The speaker always looks more pleasant who does not hide behind the podium and does not read from a piece of paper. But this is the height of art, and, of course, as long as the fear of performing is alive, this will not work.

Fear Overcoming Exercises

Preparation is the main way to get rid of fear. But it's nice to add some more techniques to it.

To normalize the neurohormonal state, it is useful to load yourself physically. Push up, squat, run, wave your arms. And the body is useful, and "anti-fear" will be developed, in other words, endorphins - hormones of anti-stress and happiness. But do not do this just before the performance, your breathing should be normal, and your appearance should be neat.

Visualization

Imagine and play in your head the upcoming performance in front of an audience. Feel it with each of your primary senses. Imagine every detail, the more precise the better. Imagine the attentive glances of the listeners, the exchange of energy. Imagine only successful and pleasant. Imagine the most successful scenario: how you joke, how positively the audience reacts to it, how skillfully you answer unexpected and difficult, and even tricky, questions.

self-hypnosis

Before you go on stage (speak), say a few phrases:

• I'm glad I'm here.
• I'm glad you're here.
• I am confident in my knowledge.
• I know and understand what I want to talk about.
• I like you.
• Do you like me.

There is only one way to overcome fear - to train. And, of course, you need to remember that 90% of the success of a performance depends on preparation. with people, learn to understand them, learn to control yourself. Work on your confidence and Break down your fear into sub-points and solve them.

What is the main cause of fear in public speaking in front of a large audience? How to learn to make fiery speeches and stop being afraid to speak in public?

Hello, friends! Alexander Berezhnov is in touch and I am glad to see you on the pages of our blog!

I know that I have already intrigued you with such a headline and all this will really be in the article.

And how does it relate to public speaking? - you ask.

I assure you, all these tricks are directly related to overcoming the fear of public speaking! Checked by my 7 year old practice.

Public performance- an interesting topic! Note that the title of the article is not "How to Learn to Speak in Public in an Hour (Day, Week)?" because it's actually impossible, it's all a painstaking and gradual process. Who in the subject - will confirm my words.

If you have read the previous articles, you probably noticed that they all have a practical focus. Here my friends and I share our experience and summarize the accumulated knowledge. They are obtained as a result of hard and regular work. And it is not just words.

1. My public speaking experience

In 2010, in the city of Stavropol, we created a club with like-minded people "charismatic speaker", which regularly held classes, invited interesting guests (politicians, businessmen, actors, TV presenters), went out into the "fields" and trained to speak in public, overcoming their fears and complexes.

Today our club has switched to a new format and with colleagues we also conduct trainings in public speaking in youth institutions of the city of Stavropol and the Stavropol Territory. All this is done free of charge. Thus, everyone can improve their public speaking skills.

The topic of public speaking is very close to me. From the second grade, I began to perform on stage, studied vocals and choral singing, performed solo in the city of Stavropol and beyond as a performer of classical and patriotic songs.

Therefore, today I am not only not afraid to perform, but also love to do it very much, I teach these skills to others. He has spoken before several thousand people at city and regional events, held mass actions as a host, was a speaker at round tables of various levels, held presentations of projects in different cities, gave interviews on television and radio.

Many of my friends and acquaintances say:

“Don’t feed him with bread,” just let him speak!”

Indeed, public speaking is my passion! I have been doing this consciously and regularly for 7 years now.

Experiment

Before writing the article, I conducted a large survey among my friends and acquaintances (surveyed about 50 people). Among the respondents were people of both public and non-public professions.

I only asked them two questions:

1. “Do you like public speaking? (yes/no) and why?
2. What are you afraid of when speaking in public?

It turned out that most people are really afraid to perform. Among my main fears, my friends identified:

• fear of appearing ridiculous in front of an audience;
• fear of losing the logic of the story;
• fear of letting your team down(if you are a trusted representative of such a team);
• fear of "talking too much" from excitement.

As a result of the survey, I found out that there is a direct relationship between the size of the audience, the level of the event and the status of the listeners present.

That is, the larger the audience, the more solid the event and the higher the status of the guests, the more difficult it is to perform in front of such an audience.

Public speaking is as much an art as writing music, writing poetry, carving wood, etc. I would even say that this is more complicated than the examples given, since psychology, the inner mood and the personality of the speaker himself play a huge role in public speaking.

The topic of public speaking is very extensive, it includes a huge theoretical base on the speaker's posture, appearance, presentation style, the art of speaking, facial expressions, gestures, the ability to hold the audience's attention, and so on.

I am convinced that all this can be learned only through regular practice.

And in the article we will talk about the psychology of public speaking, and in particular about the fear that many people have at this moment and how to overcome it.

2. Why do most people experience overwhelming fear in public speaking? main reason

So, friends, before you do any business, you need to turn to the theory of this business.

In order to overcome fear in public speaking, you need to know why it occurs.

Fear- this is a protective reaction of the body, which helps us avoid fatal mistakes and threats to life. Moderate fear, or rather, slight excitement is a useful and necessary emotion at the time of our speech. It helps us concentrate better and not lose our train of thought. But excessive fear to the point of trembling in the knees is the main opponent of any speaker!

2.1. So what is the main cause of fear in public speaking?

It's all about our ancient instincts.

Since ancient times, people did everything together, that's how it was easier to survive. Together they hunted and escaped from wild animals. Together they defended themselves from the raids of other tribes. That is, it was not accepted and even dangerous to separate from the team.

And any public speech is, first of all, an expression of one's individuality, most often one's own point of view. Here you just need to stand out from the crowd and be "not like everyone else."

For most people this is very difficult to do.

3. Public installation “Be like everyone else! Don't stand out!"

From early childhood, we were taught to be obedient and humble, fulfilling the will of adults: parents, educators, teachers.

Remember yourself in kindergarten... This is the same secure institution as a school, institute, army and even a prison. Here we went for a walk, for lunch, and attended other collective events. Still, after all, a person is a herd animal and feels uncomfortable alone. And most importantly, it can develop only in society.

Surely you remember the famous fairy tale about the boy "Mowgli", who grew up among the animals. But few people know that modern mankind knows dozens of such examples. This is especially true for India. There, children were lost in the jungle and brought up in animal packs. Wolves and other animals replaced their parents.

Even after they were found by civilized people, such children could never become people in the modern sense. They did not speak, but howled at the moon and ran on all fours. Therefore, it is psychologically very difficult for many of us to accept the very essence of public speaking, especially if we were brought up in an environment of "non-public" people.

Another interesting fact.

Scientists have proven that at the time of public speaking, many people release the same amount of adrenaline as when skydiving.

Fear of public speaking has been found to be second fear after the main thing - the fear of death, and for some it even comes first!

3.1. How can we overcome this ancient instinct?

Friends, the easiest way to do this is simply by realizing that the modern world has changed, new “rules of the game” have appeared. Public speaking, and leadership in itself, has become a very important element of modern people. These qualities are especially pronounced in those who have great ambitions and want to achieve a lot in life.

Friends, remember!

People are afraid to speak in public for fear of criticism, i.e. if you are afraid to speak in public - this is a signal, a kind of small call to the fact that you are highly dependent on the opinions of others and you have self-doubt.

This is very important to know. Since if we want to solve a problem, we clearly need to understand the cause of its occurrence. As a doctor, before treating a patient, he sends him for tests or conducts appropriate examinations in order to accurately diagnose.

So, we have established that the fear of public speaking is common to many people. It is a fact!

Have you ever thought that speaking in public is very useful? This trains your communication skills, erudition, allows you to develop the ability to correctly formulate thoughts and make them more consistent.

You have noticed that many professional speakers are far from poor people, and this is also no coincidence. Remember, we drew a parallel between fear of public speaking and self-doubt. I think everyone understands that in order to earn money you need to be a self-confident person. Otherwise, your success will be very unstable.

So, dear readers, we come to the most important thing!

4. Practical techniques and exercises to overcome the fear of public speaking. "Fast" and "slow" methods

There are basically two ways to solve this problem:

1. Slow;
2. Relatively fast (stressful).

Example

You can learn to swim slowly, that is, go to the pool, study with an instructor, wearing a special swimming vest. Then you will gradually, in a few weeks, learn to swim, and this will not affect your emotional state.

The second way is fast, but rather "stressful". I think you already guessed what he suggests.

A person who cannot swim is taken out in a boat to the middle of the lake and thrown out of it. In this situation, the "teachers" assume that the instinct of self-preservation will immediately force the poor fellow to act, and he will learn to swim in a couple of minutes.

Of course, extremes are not always good, but their dosed use clearly helps in life.

How can such an example be projected to overcome the fear of public speaking?- you ask. But this is already interesting.

So, let's move on to the practical part:

4.1. "Slow Way"

I will summarize it in three main principles:

Principle #1: Familiar Audience and Interesting Topic

I suggest starting small. This is how great things begin. Gather at home a few of your friends - like-minded people. You must be doing something together. Whether it's sports, computer games or work.

Agree with them that on the day of the meeting you will present them with very interesting information. Prepare yourself and do it as if you are in front of a large hall and hundreds of people are watching you. Give it your all, don't give yourself any favors!

I also practice this from time to time. This keeps you in shape. When your friends, acquaintances or relatives look at you, then there is nothing to be afraid of, especially if you speak on a topic that is interesting to you. In this case, your performance will certainly be very worthy.

Principle number 2. Don't compare yourself to others, develop your own personality

I'm sure you've noticed that every good speaker has his own way of speaking. Just remember our Russian comedians: Evgeny Petrosyan, Vladimir Vinokur, Maxim Galkin, Viktor Koklyushkin, Elena Vorobey. Politicians: Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. TV presenters and actors: Vladimir Solovyov, Tina Kandelaki, Vladimir Pozner.

All of them are loved by the audience, but each has its own unique image, which is inherent only to them, thanks to their charisma.

Find yourself, your unique image. The view of your friends from the outside will help you with this. Ask them what style do you perform best in? How do they perceive you? And based on this analysis and your own feeling, develop your own style of presenting a public speech.

Principle number 3. Practice!

Participate in performances, discussions, take the initiative wherever there is an opportunity to speak publicly. If you have time and desire, find like-minded people and create a discussion club. At first, it can be placed at home, and later transferred to the base of your work, study or public organization.

And now we will get rid of fear by stressful methods ...

4.2. "Quick Way"

As I already wrote, there are certain technologies that allow you to quickly get rid of the main problem - the critical perception of others. To do this, you need to increase your stress resistance through certain exercises.

The logic here is very simple: if you can withstand a strong critical assessment of people (necessarily strangers!), Then you can speak in public and not worry about it for sure!

Go!

Exercise number 1. "Cleanliness is the key to health"

You dress up as a cleaner (cleaning lady), take a bucket of water, a rag and a mop, go to the nearest public transport stop, preferably on a weekend, so that there are fewer people on the buses.

Then get on the bus, and saying: "Cleanliness is the key to health", start washing it with your accessories. =) At the same time, you are talking with puzzled passengers and the driver. After driving 5-6 stops, you get off, paying the fare, and repeat this exercise 5 more times. I advise you not to start this exercise alone, as it will be quite embarrassing for you to do it alone.

Exercise number 2.

Surely in the summer on the streets of your city you can find points selling ice cream. Usually this is a refrigerator, next to it there is an umbrella from the sun and a girl (rarely a guy) sells ice cream. Your task is to approach the girl and offer your help in selling her ice cream. Tell us a little about yourself, say that you are undergoing training and this is part of your task.

Compose a quatrain about the company that owns the outlet, then start inviting people passing by with it.

Your main task is to increase sales at the time of your active actions! Do this for 20 minutes. Repeat the exercise 3 times a day at different points.

Exercise number 3. "With a pacifier in the mall"

Buy a regular baby pacifier, put it in your mouth, and go on a field trip to the nearest mall. It can also be a market or similar crowded place. Approach different outlets with the air of an interested buyer. It is best if there are several other passers-by nearby. Stand with a pacifier in your mouth in line for groceries. When it's time to buy, look at the seller without removing the pacifier from your mouth, place an order.

Put the groceries in your bag and move on as if nothing had happened. Watch the reactions of others...

Exercise number 4.

Take the laundry detergent box and pour it into another container. Clean the box thoroughly. After that, pour powdered sugar (crushed granulated sugar) into the box, take a spoon and head to the cafe. It is best if there are many visitors. Right in front of them, take out a box of laundry detergent with powdered sugar and start eating it with a spoon right in front of people and cafe staff.

Walk around the establishment with a demonstrative view. If you are asked questions, answer them, and at the end of the answer, offer to try your delicious powder.

I myself personally went through the first two exercises, and went through tougher ones, which I won’t write about. I think you get the point.

A lot more can be done based on these exercises. It all depends on your imagination and moral readiness.

I will say that it is best to alternate these methods.

That is, you first give yourself a shake-up, and then speak publicly several times in a row, but already having greater stress resistance. Your level grows and, like in computer games, starting from the first level, in the process of gaining experience, it increases.

I know that many will say, but where do you get the courage for such exercises. Friends, but you wanted to go fast, and for everything fast you need to pay something, in this case, stress. But I assure you that nothing bad will happen to you, and panic fear in public speaking will turn into only a slight excitement that will only help you.

Please take the survey:

5. Video of the most disastrous public performance...

Finally, I present to your attention the video with the most disastrous public speaking in front of the camera. I'm sure you will like it :)

Meet! Petr Polyachkin- speaker of the 21st century! (4:34)