The fear of ‘Public Speaking’  stops many people in their tracks, and hinders them from sharing their expertise and growing their businesses and careers.   Here are some great tips to help you change your mindset and therefore your results.

1. Never call it “public speaking”, to yourself or others, as there is a societal fear around those words we seem to be born with.  “Presenting” or “sharing my message” are more empowering.

2.  Your body feels excitement and nervousness in exactly the same way.  It’s only your self-talk that distinguishes between the positive (excitement) and the negative (nervous).  So NEVER tell yourself, or let anyone else tell you either, that you are ‘nervous’. You are ‘excited’ (admittedly at times ‘VERY excited’) to be ‘sharing your message’.  Sounds simple, but words are so powerful.

3. Never tell your audience you are inexperienced, nervous etc.  We always feel more ‘excited’ on the inside than we look on the outside anyway, so if you don’t point it out, they won’t look for it.  The majority are also very happy you are speaking not them!  You are the ‘expert’ so have instant credibility.  If you tell people you are nervous, they assume you really don’t know what you are talking about and there goes your credibility and their confidence in you.

4. As part of your preparation, ensure you are well hydrated as it helps you think clearly (during the presentation pausing to sip water gives you the chance to catch your thoughts too), well fed and rested.  Have your Power Point notes on paper too, in case the data projector doesn’t work, and aim to be there early so traffic delays don’t matter.

5. When sharing your message      it’s a good idea to always give out something, a handout etc, with your     name and website address on it that people will want to keep.  Smile!

Remember it’s not about you, your audience are there to learn something to improve their lives or solve a problem.  Focus on helping them achieve what they want, and you’ll end up achieving what you want.  You might even find yourself enjoying sharing your message.