The greatest fear among most people is the fear of public speaking. Even Cicero, a Roman considered the best public speaker of all time, use to cite it as the thing he was most afraid of. So how do you go about becoming a good speaker if youve never done it before? First, youre going to have to practice. You need to find a venue where youre comfortable giving speeches. Start out by speaking in front of a mirror pretend youre giving a speech. You can watch yourself talk, and even experienced speakers use this as a technique to understand their facial expressions and how to change them. This will give you the comfort level you need to start giving speeches or presentations in front of people. After you feel like you could do this in front of a person, join a local speaking group. The Toastmasters are a good one its a club for people who want to improve their speaking skills, and they have people of all experience levels. You can get started with them, in staged events with small audiences. Its much easier to speak in front of a small group of people for a beginner than a crowd you just pretend youre talking with friends, and gradually the pressure and nervousness will go away. If you dont have one in your area, you could try looking around for contests sponsored by the local Rotary club or other organizations. There often arent any people really entering these, and they dont have much of an audience, so its not that hard to go do them. Alternatively, you could just try getting friends or family to listen to you. If youve got a big presentation at work that youre worried about, do it several times in front of people that you know and are comfortable with. Youll have practice for the real thing, and youre less likely to get flustered when youre actually doing it. |
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