Let’s face it. Most of us are not comfortable speaking in front of groups, especially when giving formal speeches or presentations. Standing on stage under bright lights, with all those blank faces staring at you, can be incredibly nerve racking. In fact, some people tremble at the mere thought of public speaking.

Did you know the fear of public humiliation is greater than the fear of death? It’s universally true across all cultures. It’s why most people are deathly afraid of public speaking.

Now here’s the paradox. To reach that “next level” of success, socially and professionally, the ability to speak in front of a group is a fundamental necessity. Overcoming this fear will release your untapped potential. It will unlock opportunities that you may currently find unattainable.

One of the most important life skills is communication. Being able to effectively communicate to groups of people gives you an incredible advantage.

Sooner or later you will be presenting. Maybe you need to pitch a proposal at a company meeting… give a sales presentation to prospective clients… or something as simple as voicing your opinion in front of some friends or colleagues. No matter how big or small your audience, the following 5 Tips will help you deliver persuasive, powerful presentations – guaranteed!

…But first thing’s first! I am not a professional speaker. I was no less afraid of public speaking than the next person. When I was young I avoided large groups. They intimidated me. So it wasn’t in my scope of reality to speak to a group of people!

Then as I got older I realized that shyness and greatness don’t mix.

Through training, I overcame that barrier. Not only did I learn to speak in front of a group, I learned how to present. My fear of speaking was replaced with the confidence to deliver impactful presentations to over a hundred people at a time. Now I’m even more comfortable on TV and on camera. So I can say first-hand that applying these skills has absolutely improved my life!

There are a lot of good resources for public speaking. You can find speaking groups, (like Toastmasters), in every major city. It’s a terrific way to develop some speaking skills. But, what I’m about to share with you is far more valuable than speaking skills alone. I’m not going to talk about articulation, creative use of language, vocal variety, filler words, verbal crutches, hand gestures, and other techniques.

Although public speaking techniques are invaluable for giving speeches, presentations are more interactive and often require facilitating audience engagement. When you’re able to deliver captivating presentations, every aspect of your public speaking skills will improve automatically.

The magic of a powerful presentation is in the ability to make an emotional connection and build trust.

This is achieved by creating the proper setting, or [context], which engages your audience as part of your presentation. Logic, facts and figures may build interest and even impress your audience. However, it won’t spark the emotional motivation that decisions are made from. And, it certainly isn’t enough to earn their trust. Win over your audience by speaking to their hearts, not their minds. Remember, presenting is “facilitating a conversation”. It’s not lecturing.

Creating context is how the best speakers in the world influence and inspire. The process can be so subtle that unless you know what to look for, you just think they’re amazing speakers – which of course they are! The point is, it can be duplicated. The process will even give you instant confidence. How’s that for a great by-product?

…Communication is an emotional contact sport. Presenting to groups is no different. The common mistake is to think that presenting is a one-way street.

5 Tips to Connect With Your Audience:

Yes, it’s your audience. And, no matter what you previously thought, “presenting” is two-way communication…even if you’re doing all the talking!

Remember, the majority of all communication is non-verbal. Just because the audience isn’t talking doesn’t mean they’re not communicating with you. You just gotta learn to “listen”.

1. Get Present:

It’s called present-ing for a reason, so be in the now. This is one of the most overlooked factors in giving presentations. It’s so easy to get caught up in your “content” or presentation notes that you may as well be speaking to a wall.

There’s a story of an actress who was having a conversation at a party. She talked about herself for 20 minutes then asked, “Enough about me. How did you like my last movie?”

Yes… you may have the stage, but it’s not all-about-you!

Your audience is consciously or subconsciously looking for [what's in it for them]. For the most part, they’re watching and listening to you for self-serving reasons. Address those reasons and you’ll get their undivided attention.

Remember, in a presentation you’re directing “a conversation”. Yours is verbal and theirs is non-verbal. Take moments to stay connected to your listeners. Just as you would make eye contact in a one-on-one conversation, continually scan the room and make your audience feel as if you’re talking to them individually. Notice their physical cues and responses during your presentation.

Not everyone has the ability to give a presentation or deliver a speech without using notes, and that’s totally fine. Notes are useful and sometimes necessary, as long as they’re not a crutch. If your face is buried in your notes, you’re not connecting with the audience. That means you’re definitely not present with them.

…Stay connected with your audience by “staying present”.

2. Enroll the Audience:

Enrolling questions are questions that engage listeners into participation. There are 3 main benefits of using enrolling questions in your presentation:

#1- Questions hook the mind. This allows listeners to at least mentally participate in your presentation, not just sit and listen. Remember, you’re leading a conversation and not a lecture. Get them to interact with you by asking questions that will lead into key points of your presentation.

The average adult attention span is probably shorter than the length of your presentation. It’s even shorter with kids. So use questions to get them to focus on your presentation, instead of the gazillion things going on in their personal lives. (Considering the average internet user’s attention span is in the seconds, congratulations! You’re officially above average!)

#2 – Addressing their questions is the way to bridge trust. If your audience doesn’t trust you and thinks you’re just “selling” or manipulating, you’ve already lost them.

Use questions that are relevant to your listeners’ interests. Your goal is 100% enrollment – your entire audience. If one or two people lose interest, it signals others to do the same. It only takes one person to trigger an episode in a group dynamic.

Participation is the key to retention and asking enrolling questions is the secret to participation. So use the universal enrollment question, “How Many Of You…?” (HMOY)

“How Many Of You would like to be a captivating speaker?” “How Many Of You would like to have the confidence of a world class leader?”

Business coaches, motivational speakers and exceptional salesmen all use the universal enrollment question. We’ve all heard these kinds of questions. And facilitated properly, it never gets old. Facilitated properly, it always works.

It’s good to ask 2 questions at a time – one question, and then it’s opposite. This way you get 100% enrollment. For example:

“How Many Of You are comfortable presenting to large groups?” (response)….”Thank You. How Many Of You are not comfortable presenting to large groups?” (response)…”Thank You.”

Of course not everyone will physically participate, even though you’ve asked opposing questions. It’s okay because just asking the question will mentally grab their attention.

Key Point: Asking enrolling questions alone isn’t enough to fully engage the audience into participation. Physically demonstrate the Response You Want. If you want them to raise their hands in answering your questions, raise your hand!

Enthusiasm is contagious! If you raise your hand halfway, most of your audience may only flip their hand up at the wrist. Raise your hand high, with energy and enthusiasm, and the audience will more likely raise their hands at least halfway up. If you’re connected with the audience, they’ll follow your physical commands without resistance. If not, it’s a cue to get present and re-connect. I encourage you to test this!

Another important point when asking enrolling questions is to thank the audience each time they respond. This is an important part of the enrollment process. It will help you gain trust by appreciating your audience.

…Use enrolling questions > Model the response you want > Thank the audience when they participate.

3. Address Their Physical/Mental/Emotional States:

Have you ever shifted in your seat to get comfortable during a lecture? Ever change leg positions or arch your back to stretch while seated? Ever need to take a big deep breath to stay focused and energized?

Of course!…Did you take a deep breath just now?

This is called a state change. While listening to a speaker, we periodically need to “change our state.” We subconsciously do this to release discomfort, or to “refresh” ourselves so our attention doesn’t drift off. As a listener this helps us focus. Now as a speaker, it usually means your audience is bored, uncomfortable or in disagreement with you.

What if you could use state changes to your advantage, instead of something to worry about during your presentation? How valuable would that be for your confidence? Here’s where delivering a presentation gets fun! (Imagine… public speaking can be fun!)

Have you ever been to a seminar and noticed how often the speaker will ask questions to get you to raise your hand?…And every so often they may even get you to stand up or perform some kind of physical movement.

A lot of people associate this with motivational lectures – to get you energized. That’s true, and it’s actually much more. Did you ever think that it’s an integral part of the entire presentation process? In fact, it’s carefully thought out. It’s usually so subtle that most people don’t realize the intent behind it.

Having good content in your presentation may get listeners interested. However, that’s not always enough for them to commit to a decision inspired by your presentation. How you deliver your presentation is everything.

While observing video playback of various seminars, it was discovered that the entire audience would periodically shift in their seats. Here’s why…

Like a computer, your brain is constantly processing information at lightning speed. It’s processing millions of bits of information per second. Your audience is subconsciously picking up tons of information from the words you’re using, your vocal tone, body language, other people in the audience, etc. It processes it all and comes up with an emotional feeling, mental thought, physical sensation, or a combination of the three. This dictates their [energetic state].

This “state” must be constantly addressed in order to retain their attention – more accurately, to retain their interest. Otherwise you’ll lose them through the overwhelming amount of information you’re blasting at them, or merely through sheer boredom.

Just as you periodically need to hit the [refresh button] on your internet browser, the processor in our brains need to be refreshed too! Mental, physical and emotional states are all closely connected. Change one and you simultaneously influence the other two. Studies have shown that the fastest way to change someone’s state is through a physical motion.

Knowing this, you can facilitate state changes in your audience at will, during your presentation. It’s not to be mistaken with manipulation. It’s the secret to keeping your audience focused and engaged.

If you don’t facilitate state changes, your audience will unconsciously do them on their own. And that could mean you’ve momentarily lost them. If you’ve even momentarily lost them, you’re not communicating effectively.

Remember, they’ll only retain about 10% of what you said. But, they’ll always remember how you made them feel!…and most decisions are based on emotions – not logic. Logic is how decisions are later justified.

This is why professional speakers put so much emphasis on how their message is delivered – cause context, (how it’s said) can be more important than content, (what is said).

…Facilitate “state changes” to get keep the audience engaged.

4. Acknowledge & Thank Your Audience:

Everyone has an inner skeptic. It’s healthy, to some degree. But as a speaker, a skeptical audience is intimidating. Unless your audience already knows you, they’re probably skeptical while open-minded at the same time. Those odds can quickly change for you or against you. It can happen faster than you can say (or don’t say) “anything.” So let’s increase those odds in your favor!

A key part of delivering a powerful presentation is to build trust. This includes addressing the audience’s inner skeptic during your presentation. This is commonly known as addressing [WIIFM's] or What’s In It For Me?

…Meaning, what’s in it for your listeners? You may have something valuable to share, but is it important to them? What are some obvious questions your listeners may have in order to peak their interest and gain their trust?

Many people, understandably, want to avoid controversy and “hot topics” during a presentation. Objections can be scary to face head on, especially when unprepared and under the pressure of a large group! But completely avoiding them during your presentation has been proven to be a huge mistake!

There’s no faster way to lose credibility, and a listener’s interest, than to avoid WIIFM’s and not address obvious objections.

This one point underlines the core reason most people are afraid of public speaking – the universal fear of public humiliation. Ironically, hidden in the fearsome WIIFM’s and objections lies the secret to making quantum leaps in the power of your presentations.

Take the time to anticipate and prepare for major WIIFM’s and objections. Even if nobody verbalizes them, someone is thinking about them. And if someone is thinking about them, others probably are too. And if your audience is thinking about their objections instead of listening to your presentation, they may be in disagreement with you. Which means you’ve momentarily lost the connection.

WIIFM’s and objections may or may not be the same. A listener may not have any objections but simply aren’t interested cause they don’t see any personal relevance, (WIIFM). Or, someone can be interested and engaged while being skeptical (sees the relevance but has objections).

Either way, making an emotional connection is the key to a powerful presentation. Why do you think testimonials have proven to be more effective than selling facts and features?

I can’t tell you how powerful it is to address WIIFM’s and objections during your presentation. It skyrockets your credibility and further engages your audience for a fantastic presentation.

Remember, it’s imperative to thank your audience for their time and participation….Not just at the end of your presentation, but throughout your entire presentation. It’s a natural human need to feel valued. Extend your audience’s trust by genuinely appreciating them.

…Acknowledge the audience’s WIIFM’s and major objections.

…Thank them for their time, participation, and/or money.

5. Call To Action:

Depending on the kind of presentation you’re giving, a “call to action” is whatever your intentions are for your audience. For example: to get their contact information to build your prospective client list, to schedule future appointments, to make an immediate sale, etc.

This is the time to “close” your presentation and get the results you’re intending. You’ve informed, inspired, and added value to your listeners. Your presentation has prepped them for this moment…now what?

Generally, the audience still needs direction. At this point they probably realize the potential value you’re offering. In fact, if you’ve addressed the WIIFM’s and made the emotional connection, they can’t wait for you to tell them what to do next! That’s exactly the win-win you’re looking for.

Keep in mind that most people follow the group dynamic. Without clear guidance, they may scatter or just follow the masses. So, where do you want the masses to go? A common mistake is not providing a simple and clear call to action. I’ve seen so many good presentations go bad because of a lack of definitive next steps.

…Provide a simple and clear call-to-action.

Summary:

By no means is this article a ‘complete guide’ to delivering powerful presentations. It’s not possible to stuff advanced material into one article. That being said, implementing this process into your presentations will yield outstanding results – guaranteed!

There isn’t necessarily an “order” to this process. These tips are to be applied throughout your entire presentation. Using this methodology, you’ll be able to take your presentation towards a professional, world-class level!

• Get Present
• Enroll the Audience
• Address the Audience’s Energetic State
• Acknowledgement and Thanks
• Call to Action

Next time you watch a professional speaker or top salesman, you’ll recognize these powerful tips that you’ve just learned. Best of all, now you can consciously duplicate this proven process and implement them as your own.

Professional training doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money, (like it did for ‘some people’). In this case it only costs you an investment in time! Congratulations and good luck! You won’t need it: )

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Continue to discover the power of your untapped potential! We all have so called inner demons or deep-rooted emotions that may have a negative effect on our lives. Most people try and hide or suppress them. However, only by overcoming them and [taming] them can we turn those “inner dragons” into something positive.

In many cases our biggest challenges can become our greatest strengths. We just need to have the courage to face our “dragons” and the tools to tame them. Explore the blog and share your thoughts, experiences, suggestions. Thanks! http://stevesdragon.com/

Do you remember your first days without the training wheels on your bike? Were you nervous? Were you even a little bit afraid? Did that fear make you hyper-focused? Was there someone holding on to your bike’s seat, guiding you and cheering you on?

When it comes to public speaking, do you find yourself nervous and maybe even afraid? Like that first experience on your bike, let me hold on the seat and help you learn.

1. Let Your Nerves Work for You

I am probably right when I say those few moments of being on a bicycle without training wheels were some of the most focused moments in your life. All your senses were ready to learn. Your nerves, in that case, were working for you.

Nerves are not the enemy. I have been presenting public speaking courses for over two decades and I have never found a good speaker who was not nervous about their work. Notice that I wrote “a good speaker.” There are plenty of cocky and arrogant public speakers who are “never nervous” but they present without energy or enthusiasm.

What good are nerves and nervousness for the public speaker? Your nerves keep your energy level high and your focus sharp. Speaking with high energy while focused on your presentation benefits your audience. They are getting a speaker who is truly present to the subject they are presenting instead of someone who is spewing out just another average speech. Before going onstage, accept your nerves as part of being human, take several slow deep breaths, smile big and step onto the stage with energy and enthusiasm.

2. Remember: Your Audience Wants You to Succeed.

When you were riding without the training wheels, were your family or friends standing on the sidewalk hoping you would fall off and hurt yourself? Of course they were not hoping that you would fail.

In public speaking, your audience wants to you to be at your best. They do not want you to be boring as that means they will be bored. Your audience wants to see you having fun or deeply in touch with your subject. In the old days, people were told to imagine the audience in their underwear. That was just horrible advice. Your audience is on your side and you are in partnership with them. Remember, you are the expert and you are giving them a valuable presentation. They want to walk out of the event saying, “Great! I can really use what that speaker was talking about.”

3. Good Coaching and Training is Invaluable.

When you were a small child, you did not just hop on to your bicycle and hurry down the street. No, you started with training wheels. Then, someone took off those training wheels and ran behind you, holding on to the seat, while you wobbled down the road. Several falls later, more running and wobbling, and then, whoosh you took off down the road.

Coaching and training for public speaking are invaluable ways to get to the whoosh moments of public speaking. We who coach and train public speaking skills are always getting letters of thanks from our clients who successfully used simple techniques taught in public speaking workshops or private coaching. Seek out the experts who can take you to the next level. You will discover that it is an incredible experience to have a speaking coach who can point out areas where you need to improve and support you in your natural skills as a presenter.

Learn to focus your nervous energy to achieve excellence as a speaker!

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For more information about Sean’s workshop that teaches you to harness the power of business or corporate storytelling, please visit our website at http://www.executivespeakertraining.com You are also invited to follow Sean via his Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/storyteller today.

A great public speaking statistic was once made on national TV by Jerry Seinfeld, from the TV show Seinfeld, who found a poll that said that the number one fear for Americans was public speaking. Death was at number five. With this he joked that “…at a funeral, people are five times more likely to want to be in the casket than giving the eulogy.”

Now forgiving the statistical error Jerry made, public speaking is actually ranked at the top fear of many people, Americans included. From my own personal history, as well as some of the many tips I was able to find online, here are 10 tips for eliminating public speaking fears.

1. Practice right before you go to bed.

My best tip to myself by far. Trying to memorize and practice what I have to say right before I go to bed really helps. On a scientific level, your brain works at night and whatever you process last (right before bedtime) sub-consciously becomes more familiar to you the next day! This tip has helped me tremendously, especially for presentations.

2. Be prepared.

I envy people who can go up and stir the crowd up without any practice beforehand. But until I get there, knowing the material and speaking with authority on that particular subjects projects confidence, which in turn makes you less nervous while your up on center stage.

3. Use bullet points and do not memorize word for word.

If you try to memorize your entire speech or presentation, that will make you more nervous! Instead focusing on memorizing bullet points has helped me since I can be a little more spontaneous, but at the same time, give me direction whenever I feel lost. Trying to memorize what you have to say word for word just makes you think more about what you have to say, which puts more pressure on yourself.

4. As I saw on a shampoo commercial where a guy tells his nervous professor to just imagine him naked to take away his fear of speaking…

Realize this: whoever your audience is, they want you to succeed. Even if you are very nervous, if you just stand tall you will look 90% confident. The fast heart beat, butterflies, and sweaty palms can’t be seen by the audience. In fact, they want to hear a good presentation, and most times, they will like you no matter what.

5. Smile. Smiling makes you happier and makes you more confident.

Smile and try to gaze for familiar faces. This allows you to make a positive connection with your audience and takes your mind of of the “I can’t do this” thoughts.

6. Be enthusiastic.

Even if its a boring business meeting or a boring school presentation, saying your part with fake enthusiasm will rub off…to yourself! Its like smiling except it you can do it for the entire duration.

7. Eat a lot of yogurt and nuts.

Some natural chemical inside yogurts and nuts helps to calm you down. I find this works better than a glass of water, and just the fact of me eating it makes me psychologically more confident in myself.

8. Breathe. But don’t just breathe, breathe until your lungs are full.

Make sure to get enough oxygen inside of you just in case you run into the good old shortness of breath. Rapid breathing is one of my main problems when I am in a public speaking setting, so I always make sure to take a couple big breaths right before I start talking.

9. Project a success image into your head right before you begin talking.

I usually like to project myself confidently presenting to my audience, and when the time comes for me to begin, I will follow my projections to a T.

10. As the famous A.I. once said, “Practice? Practice? You wanna talk about Practice?”

Yes, practice by yourself talking into an imaginary audience, practice to your roommates, your parents, siblings, friends, or even your dog. Practice puts the motion inside your brain, and when the actual time for your speech comes, your brain will already know what to say.

Of course, the best way to overcome your fear of public speaking is through public speaking classes. It is pretty much practice, just in a real setting. There are also many different self-help programs that aim to give you confidence and help you develop techniques to overcome anxiety and panic.

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Note from author Tim Carllson: I have spent all of high school and college in fear of getting up and talking in front of my peers. Its such a simple task, but one that made me extremely nervous and sweaty. There is hope for people like me, and I found how to overcome my public speaking fears. Visit http://www.squidoo.com/fightpanicattacks to read about how I was able to overcome my fears and anxieties.

We’ve all heard that eye contact is essential for successful public speaking. Sometimes, however, looking audience members in the eye isn’t easy, especially when nervousness and self-consciousness hijack our thinking.

Recently, I coached a client who had a severe case of eye-avoidedness. It was the first issue he brought up. And of course, I saw it in action immediately. Even though we sat in armchairs no more than 4 feet apart, I’d estimate that he avoided looking at me about 80% of the time.

He knew this was a problem both in presentations and interpersonal communication, but he had no idea how to overcome his shyness. And that, in fact, turned out to be an important clue for me. He mentioned that he was an introvert. One speaking trait introverts sometimes have is a desire to “go away” in their own mind and fashion a carefully structured and gift-wrapped statement or response. In the rough-and-tumble of conversations and Q & A, however, we seldom have the luxury of doing this.

Before we tried an exercise I had in mind, I gave him the two reasons why I believe strong eye contact is critical to successful speaking situations:

1. You will never exert influence on people you don’t look in the eye! When was the last time you were persuaded by someone who wouldn’t look at you while he or she was talking?

2. People are easier to get a response from than the back wall. I often hear from my trainees, “But if I look anyone right in the eye, I’ll forget what I’m saying!” At this point I usually respond: “Which do you think is going to give you something back, the ceiling or the person you’re talking to?”

Our listeners should give us energy–not suck it out of us like an audience of vampires! Speaking to “the window of the soul” (the eyes) as you say something important to people, and observing their response, should be a delightful activity rather than a painful one. People want you to look at them when you talk. If you do, they’ll trust you more.

As it turned out, the exercise we practiced next turned out to be even more helpful for this client than I anticipated. Here it is:

I had prepared around 20 impromptu speech topics, which I folded and placed in an envelope. My client had to reach in, choose a slip and read the topic, then look up at me and start talking about it. Understand: I gave him no time to prepare. (No nicely wrapped speech package possible here!)

The topics were intentionally ones that he would have no expertise in; and in fact, each topic had no right or wrong answer. For instance, they included, “What do you like about the United Nations, and why?” And: “What do you think was the most interesting ancient civilization?,” and so on.

For a minute or two each time, my client spoke on each of four items he’d selected. And I’d say that 90% of his responses were delivered looking directly at me, with rock-solid eye contact!

You see, he couldn’t “go away” and marshal his thoughts and relevant data on the subject, for his professional experience hadn’t given him any special knowledge. The exercise was simple and clear: he had to look his listeners in the eye even if he wasn’t sure what he was about to say. His job was to reach his listener with what he was saying, not fashion the perfect answer.

The exercise is a sure-fire confidence builder, and I’ve used it many times for that purpose. But it was nice to know that it works well as a tool for strengthening eye contact, too.

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GARY GENARD is an internationally known speech coach and corporate trainer. A former professional actor, he is the founder of Boston-based Public Speaking International, one of the world’s premiere presentation skills and media training companies. PSI offers communication skills improvement including public speaking training, executive speech coaching, speech improvement training, presentation skills and using PowerPoint, sales presentation training, and media appearance training. Public Speaking International can be found online at http://PublicSpeakingInternational.com.

“Easy does it.”

“Take it easy.”

“Easy as pie.”

In America, we admire people who not only do things expertly, but who make them seem easy.

I believe one of the reasons we feel this way, is that when things are going smoothly — when we’re hitting on all cylinders — we’re functioning at peak efficiency. That just feels right. And to an audience, it looks and sounds right.

Some people call this level of performance “flow,” or nowadays, being in The Zone. Whatever name you attach it to it, it’s a feeling of effortlessness-an intense pleasure that comes from focusing completely on a task rather than the obstacles in one’s way.

The first rule of successful presentations is to bring oneself to such a state of natural relaxation. Once we do that, we can place our focus where it needs to be. And that’s on our message and our listeners, rather than on the things that make us self-conscious and anxious.

But given today’s hectic professional and personal schedules, we also need a way to help us relax quickly. So here’s a wonderful way to achieve a productive level of relaxation (not an oxymoron!) if you only have 5 minutes to spare:

1. Find a quiet and solitary place.

(Your room at a conference hotel, a toilet stall, or even your car parked outside your speaking venue will do.) Sit comfortably, with your feet flat on the floor.

2. Close your eyes.

3. “Listen” to your breath for the first minute.

That is, pay attention to what happens when you breathe in slowly and calmly. Experience these sensations with your body, not your mind; recognize how breathing nourishes and sustains you. Feel the breath flow down your throat, fill your lungs, and then bring life-giving oxygen to every cell in your body.

4. Now, focus your awareness on
a visual image you “see” in your mind.

Make it a neutral color and shape: a green circle, a yellow square, a blue triangle. Any object that doesn’t have emotional overtones for you is fine. (Avoid red as a color.)

5. See that object in as close to
crystal clarity as you can manage.

This will take concentration and a bit of practice at first. As you do, adopt a passive attitude toward any other mental activity. Thoughts, imagery, and feelings will emerge in your consciousness. Simply notice them then let them go on their way. Keep a gentle yet firm focus on your image. Do nothing; just let your awareness be.

6. Your breathing will become slower and deeper.

This is what you are aiming for. You’re now in a calmer and more relaxed state. When you’re ready, open your eyes and slowly stand. If you feel any lightheadedness, sit down again, for your body may not be used to taking in this level of oxygen. Once you have it, try to maintain this level of calmness and relaxed breathing as you go about your daily tasks. Without question, bring it into your speaking situation.

This simple, brief exercise allows you to calm yourself and focus your attention-two critical attributes of a good speech or presentation. Practice it until you can do it easily at a moment’s notice (as in, “Would you say a few words?”), because that’s when you will need it most!

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(This article originally appeared in Dr. Gary Genard’s book HOW TO GIVE A SPEECH, available at http://www.publicspeakinginternational.com/how-to-give-a-speech.html.)

GARY GENARD is an internationally known speech coach and corporate trainer. A former professional actor, he is the founder of Boston-based Public Speaking International, one of the world’s premiere presentation skills and media training companies. PSI offers communication skills improvement including public speaking training, executive speech coaching, speech improvement training, presentation skills and using PowerPoint, sales presentation training, and media appearance training. Public Speaking International can be found online at http://PublicSpeakingInternational.com

Moaning, groaning, and sorrowing sobs could be heard all the way down the corridor of the Office Building. People rushed to the cubicle where several employees had gathered and found Valerie lying in the floor curled into the fetal position.

“What happened?” one employee asked seriously.

“Valerie was asked to give a presentation at a corporate meeting and she freaked out.”

That was before she became a Toastmaster.

Stage fright is common to all speakers who are concerned about their performance, yet for some it controls decisions, creates limitations and causes drastic responses in the body. You may not think you need any training in public speaking because you never do any public speaking. Regardless of whether you ever speak in front of an audience, you are a public speaker, every time you open your mouth.

Whatever you verbalize in public even one on one is public speaking and it is a reflection on who you are! Some of you are required to make presentations and I’m sure you want to do your best to make your point as clear and as effective as possible. How do you get past the fear of speaking in front of a panel of managers at a job interview? Here are some useful tips to help you control nervousness and appear calm and knowledgeable when you suddenly asked to speak.

1. Practice Yogic breathing for a few minutes before you take the stage. Yogic breathing means bringing air all the way to and from your abdomen. It calms the nerves and delivers a better flow of oxygen to the brain.

2. Practice impromptu speaking. While you are alone, think of a topic and pretend someone has asked you to speak about it. Begin organizing your thoughts. Think of an opening reply to the question or topic, the give your opinion and to close, summarize what you just said. Try to do this in less than two minutes. You’ll be surprised how much this will help you think on your feet when someone puts you on the spot.

3. Get involved with Toastmasters. There you will find a non-threatening environment in which to learn and practice the essential communication and leadership skills. The cost is less than $100 per year and includes your materials. Find a club near you by putting your zip code into the search box at toastmasters.org/find/default.asp. Now that you are aware of some things to do to cure stage fright, I’m sure you will not be the one huddled under your desk when it’s time to make your presentation.