I’m
the CEO of a mid-size company, and as the company grows I am been required to
do more presentations. These presentations cause me enormous amount of stress,
and I feel very uncomfortable. Can you shed some light on this issue and
provide some advice.
Dear
CEO,
What
you are experiencing is fear of public speaking otherwise called speech anxiety
or stage fright. It’s that sense of fear that overtakes us when we have to
present in from of an audience, and it doesn’t matter if the audience is large
or small.
Many
research papers show that fear of public speaking is among the most common
fears along fear of death. The fear of speaking could be triggered by a past
even in which you were asked to present, and you felt you failed or did not do
as well as you’d like, or it could be a natural fear of inadequacy, rejection,
being judged as incapable or incompetent. So how do you deal with this fear.
First
of all realise that fear is natural. Whenever we are getting ready for a big
event our body prepares us by getting adrenaline released, which causes all of
the symptoms we associate with speech anxiety, including having sweaty palms,
feeling flushed, increased pulse rate, etc. Everyone, including successful
actor, sportsmen, and politicians experience the exact same thing before a
performance. However, it is how you interpret and manage that fear that makes a
difference. This fear can help you add energy and enthusiasm to the
presentation or it can block your performance, if you let it. Most people who
are afraid of presentations, see this fear as a negative indicator, and
therefore start imagining negative situations in which they forget the
presentation, the mind goes blank, people think they are incompetent etc. The
key here is to use the adrenaline to your advantage and use the energy to
connect with the audience.
Here
are some tips on managing your nervousness:
•
Visualise the
presentation from the beginning to a successful end, when everybody applauds and congratulates you for a job well
done, including some mistakes and recovering from them, and ending the
presentation successfully. For example, many of us imagine thinking that our
minds will go blank during the presentation, and it may, but the important
thing is how you recover from it.
Instead of just thinking about whatever your fear is, imagine it
happening and you gracefully recovering from it.
•
Breathe deeply , I
know it sounds obvious, but it is important to take a several deep breaths
until you feel calm and centered. By breathing slowly and deeply, you body
starts to calm down, and you can focus
on delivering your message rather than on the fear.
•
Practice, don’t try
to memorize the presentation word for word. It adds stress if you miss a word.
It is better to have one or two word notes that may trigger the point, and
rehearse the presentation several times before the actual presentation.
•
Another option may be
to seek an executive coach (link to
www.inspiring-potential.com), hypnotherapist, CBT
provider, NLP practitioner that could help you tackle directly the fear. I had
a client who asked me to help her with fear of skiing, she had been skiing for
a long time, but didn’t seem to get better. We had one session, and she went on
a skiing holiday, She later called me to say how dramatically she had improved
, and she was now going down expert slopes.
Fear
is natural, but it is also a learned behaviour, which you can unlearn. It is
possible to give presentation and be excited and inspirational instead of
worried and nervous. Executive coaching can help you deal with the fear and
practice with someone that can provide you with feedback.
For more information on
our executive coaching (links to http://www.inspiring-potential.com/executive-coaching.php) services to help with
public speaking, please click here
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