Archive for fear of speaking
The “F” Word – Speakers Should. . .
Posted by: | Comments
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Embrace It!
I’m going to use the “F” Word today.
I know I’ve already made some of you uncomfortable.
You don’t like that word directed at you.
If you direct it to others, it’s not well received.
The Truth: Failure Gets a Bad Rap!
We learn far more from our failures than things we do correctly the first time. This certainly applies to Public Speaking and Presenting.
One of my mantras is:
“Speaking Opportunities are Business, Career, and Leadership Opportunities.”
No one has everchallenged me on it. Many agree they should take and make as many Speaking Opportunities as possible. If they do, they will grow their businesses, advance their careers, and increase their leadership roles.
Speaking Opportunities are also Learning Opportunities.
Things we learn from public speaking are often not from
presentations going smoothly and without any flaws or snafus. Sometimes, it’s quite the opposite!
Many of the public speaking skills I have came about because I forgot, messed up, or didn’t even know about using them in presentations. Read More→
The Fear of Public Speaking – KSDK Interviews. . .
Posted by: | Comments
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Me!
St. Louis (KSDK) - It could be a wedding toast or a class assignment in high school or college. Most of us get anxious when we’re asked to talk to an audience.
It’s the number one phobia, called glossophobia. When it comes to talking the talk, many people would rather get a root canal or an IRS audit than make a speech.
Click the video player above to watch the report.
Fred Miller’s book is No Sweat Public Speaking!, and among his tips: people remember the first and last thing you tell them, so Have a strong opening and a strong close to your speech, have confident body language, remember that the audience is on your side and they want you to succeed.
KSDK
Transcript of Interview Read More→
The Elevator Speech Booklet – CLICK to Open!
Posted by: | CommentsAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Your Elevator Speech is a Mini-Presentation
CLICK to Open Booklet
Use this as a Template for Your Elevator Speech!
The term, Elevator Speech, implies it’s something that won’t take very long to deliver. If someone’s only going to be in an elevator with you till the next floor, it may be less than a minute. It’s not an exercise to take casually.
Just as an Elevator goes up one floor at a time, the Elevator Speech should be delivered “by the floor.”
At each stop, the verbal and/or nonverbal signal to look for is, “Tell me more.”
Everyone doesn’t want to go to the Top Floor with you. Some don’t want to leave the lobby! There is no need to waste time and energy taking them all the way up.
The Elevator Speech can be a good tool for Qualifying and DisQualifying prospects.
The Elevator Speech starts simple. As interest and time permit, it is expanded.
Again, not everyone wants to go with you to the Top Floor and you don’t want to take everyone there.
Let’s get in the Elevator and start going up!
1st Floor - Describes Who You Are
Hello! My Name is Fred Miller.
That may be all someone wants to know about you – Your Name.
2nd Floor - Describes What You Do
I’m a Speaker, a Coach and an Author.
That’s what I do.
Hopefully, they want to know: Read More→
Speakers, There’s NO App for That!
Posted by: | Comments
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
You Gotta Do It Yourself!. . .and
You Should Want To!
There’s NO App to download that will make you a Great Speaker and lessen the Fear of Public Speaking.
Because of the Fear of Public Speaking, many in leadership positions pass on taking and making Speaking Opportunities and delegate the task to others. That’s Nuts!
You should not hand a Speaking Opportunity off to someone else. Steve Jobs never did, and it’s one of the reasons Apple grew to be one of the most successful and innovative companies ever.
What would you think of a President, Prime Minister, or any leader of a country handing
off their annual “State of the Union Address’ to others? It would not be seen as a positive move, would it?
Leadership is executed through superb communications!
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know My Mantra:
Speaking Opportunities are Business Opportunities!
Speaking Opportunities are Career Opportunities!
Speaking Opportunities are Leadership Opportunities!
Those who present well are perceived as Experts. Perception is reality, and Read More→
Have a ‘Plan B’ Because When the Screen Goes. . .
Posted by: | CommentsBLANK - You’re Going to Need It! - Glad I Had Mine!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Have you ever changed a tire? (I don’t mean calling the Auto Club and waiting for the service truck to arrive!) I know many of you haven’t. So if you had the misfortune of getting a flat in the middle of nowhere and had a properly inflated tire in your trunk, and all the tools to make that change, you might have to grab your manual and figure how to change that tire – correct?
Having a ‘Plan B’ doesn’t mean implementing it is going to be easy!
Murphy’s Law, if something can go wrong it will go wrong, applies to the world of Public Speaking and Presentations, also.
I always have a ‘Plan B’, and often a ‘Plan C’. But, like having that spare tire, I never really expect to need it.
Successful Speakers Focus on. . .
Posted by: | Comments
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The AUDIENCE!
Speakers: It’s not about you!
It’s all about your Audience!
Successful Companies are Customer Centered.
- They focus on the Customer; the needs and challenges their customers have.
They focus on meeting those needs and solving those challenges.
That means:
- The Medical Community is Patient Centered.
- The Educational System is Student Centered.
- The Hospitality Industry is Guest Centered.
To be successful in the Public Speaking / Presentation World we need to be
Audience Centered!
The audience didn’t come to see and hear you. They did come to learn! They came to Read More→
The Worst Speech You’ll Ever Give,
Posted by: | CommentsWill Be Far Better Than the One You Never Give!
That’s worth repeating:
“The worst speech you’ll ever give,
will be far better than the one you never give!”
Many are held back from speaking because of the
Fear of Public Speaking.
They mistakenly think:
- They have to be perfect.
- They’ll make a fool of themselves.
- The audience won’t like them.
- They’ll forget something.
- The previous speaker was so much better!
- The audience knows more than they do about the subject.
- They have nothing worthwhile to say.
Often, we want to make our feelings know to others so that, perhaps, action can be taken.
Some grab the opportunity. Many opt to pass. Some pass, unfortunately, because of the above reasons for the Fear of Public Speaking.
Watch This Video of a young lady, who hates public speaking, but is so passionate
about keeping her library off the budget cutting block in Toronto, she had to speak.
She makes the essential “emotional connection” with her audience.
“I Have Nothing to Speak About!”
Posted by: | Comments
Nonsense!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
One of the main reasons people have a Fear of Public Speaking is they think they have nothing to say. They believe anything and everything that could ever be said on a subject has already been said - and probably, many many times!
They imagine the audience will know more than they do about the subject and will consider their valuable time is being wasted. They’ll be bored to death, give them a hard time during the Q&A, and perhaps leave before the presentation is completed.
Nonsense!
I came to this realization after a friend emailed me a question. I don’t recall what it was about, but I Read More→
Fear of Public Speaking:
An Equal Opportunity Fear!
Posted by:
| Comments
The “Fear of Public Speaking” doesn’t care about your
Age, Education, or Occupation.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Survey after survey lists it at top of the ‘Fear List’ most people have. Some say they would rather die than stand in front of an audience and deliver a speech. Unfortunately, it holds many people back from reaching their true potential.
It is a fear worth confronting and overcoming.
You might be the world’s leading authority on a subject, but if you can’t present that expertise to others in a manner that educates, entertains, and explains it well, you won’t achieve the goals that should be yours!
The research shows: “Speaking Opportunities are Business, Career and Leadership Opportunities.” Read More→
