Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking
It is a nerve-racking day in the classroom. You are zoning out and thinking about your plans for the weekend, when all of a sudden everyone claps and the teacher calls out your name. Immediately your heart starts racing, your palms get sweaty, and your throat closes up. It is your turn to present your speech to the class. In your lifetime, there will be numerous occasions where you will have to speak to the public, speak to a stranger, or just voice your opinions to someone and by the end of my speech; I will have given you some pointers for overcoming the fear of public speaking. When you develop the ability the overcome the fear of public speaking, you will be able to accomplish so much more in life. You will be able to ask your teacher or professor questions, you will be able to talk to your boss about a raise or promotion, and you will also be able to speak to strangers without being too cautious or nervous. After realizing that I will not get anywhere in life by being afraid to speak to people, I overcame my fear of speaking to strangers. As a future Registered Nurse, I will be coming in contact with strangers each and every day, so I figured I might as well get over my anxiety sooner rather than later. Therefore, I will explain some basic communication techniques for you to use when it comes to speaking to strangers and speaking publicly, I will explain the self- fulfilling prophecy technique, and also the technique of focusing on the audience and not on yourself.
So firstly, I am going to explain some basic communication techniques to you. On October 2nd of this year, I accessed an article entitled “Helping Students with Anxiety about Public Speaking” on Texas A&Ms’ writing center website, the article emphasized that in order to no longer fear public speaking, students should practice. The article explained that overcoming a fear of public speaking can be done with hard work, dedication, and practice. The more you take the opportunity to speak in front of an audience, the more comfortable you will become. The author also stressed how important it was to drink a glass of water, to take deep breaths, and to dress comfortably and appropriately before you present a speech. A few other basic communication skills that you should know is the ability to be concise and clear, the ability to convey thoughts in a focused and concrete manner, and the ability to listen. Dr. Daniel Hall explained in his article that these 3 steps will help you overcome the fear or public speaking: Knowing your topic, getting organized, and practicing. Before you even write a speech you must get organized and have everything planned out and in order to know your topic you must practice. With these basic communication skills, you should be able to communicate effectively and efficiently. Now that we have talked about some basic principles of communication, let’s look at my personal favorite technique, the self-fulfilling prophecy. The self-fulfilling prophecy technique can be used perfectly in everyday life. By believing you will have a good day or do well on a speech; you will. In a 2011 article entitled “How can I overcome my fear of public speaking” on Mayo Clinic’s website, it emphasized how one should know his or her topic. This basically means the better you understand what you're talking about; the less likely you'll make a mistake or get off track. By planning and practicing, your speech is embedded into your brain. You will subconsciously believe you will do well because you will actually know your topic; therefore, if you believe you will do well, you actually will. According to Dr. Hall, a self-fulfilling prophecy is a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it is already true. People today would call a self- fulfilling prophecy The Law of Attraction. Let’s say, for example, that I am going to a party where I don’t know many people. If I believe I won’t make a good first