Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

Gramma1 — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:01:56 GMT

I have always had a fear of public speaking and I suppose I always will. I have had a few experiences at it and always feel awful afterwards knowing that I was so nervous and everyone could tell. I have gotten better at speaking out in meetings at work though and feel very good about that. I actually look forward to them now and always speak up with much confidence.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

OrganicPotatoChips — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:32:30 GMT

I find it so much easier to speak in front of a rcrowd if I am familiar with the room I am in. If I haven't been in the room or on that stage before, anxiety goes crazy!

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

Janet Blazen — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:33:34 GMT

The main thing I found in order to give a "fearless" speech is to KNOW the subject WELL that you will be speaking about, Start off with a joke or short funny story or line, and make sure that you don't have a booger or spinach in your teeth ! LOL

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

brazos2 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:59:17 GMT

I used to teach new instructors for the Air Force. First thing we would do in the 6 week course is an impromptu 5 min speech (all taped). At the end of the course, we would watch the tape and all were amazed at the improvements made. One point I stressed was practice, practice, practice! When you know your subject, your jitters will be reduced a great deal. Also plan for questions and examples. There several types of effective questions you can use, depending on the audience and subject. One type I continue to see abused by amateur and experienced speakers alike is the dreaded "DEAD END" question. It prompts a yes or no answer from the audience that leads to killing the discussion. Vocalized pauses and stock expressions is another serious issue. Huh, “like” right dude!

If course this all has to do with the art of instruction. Making speeches offers different challenges, and I can't cover a 6 week course here. But what does cover both spectrums is practice (at least 3 times) out loud (mental practice is useless) including using the PP if REQUIRED. Don't use power point if it doesn't contribute toward your subject, it is NOT a crutch for you to hide behind.

You will be hard pressed to find a so called "expert" speaker who will admit he/she is a bad speaker. Sort of like asking for a bad driver, no one will raise their hand to that either.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

MomShap — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:23:01 GMT

Oh, poor Garden Mom! Yeah, I'll bet they notice those reactions! I recently did a talk on childhood obesity, and the impact it had on MY emotions was directly transferred to the audience. The little bit of uncomfortability, and my occasional lump in the throat, actually worked FOR me in the effectiveness of my presentation. That said; yes, they'll notice that you're nervous, but unless it makes you totally flub your words, it may not be a big deal. Here's a tip from my mentor, Randall Burt. When you step out onto the stage, take a moment to "collect" everyone from the corners of the room - making solid eye contact. This engages them, and anchors you as well. The 5-6 seconds of silence really makes people pay attention. It's very cool. Laughter is always good, as is a "state" change. At the start of this talk I had everyone in the audience do a deep breathing exercise with me. It relaxed ME, and got them ready to pay attention. I'm learning as I go...

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

GardenMom — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:55:36 GMT

They DO notice!! At least when it comes to me!! I get a facial tick, turn beat red, and sway back and forth without knowing it. Believe me...people notice.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

Maurine1 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:26:29 GMT

Concentrate on your message and assume that's why people are there -- to hear what you have to say. Smile and get going with a planned lively start and notes to keep you on track. I used to be very shy. My speech teacher in college told me to dig in my toes on stage and take a deep breath.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

kornelifry — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:56:23 GMT

I can readily attest to the power of humor. When my halfbrother got married I was chosen to give a speech, something which I had never done before. Accordingly, I practiced and wrote out cue cards. With butterflies in my stomach I went up to the podium and realized to my horror that I forgot to bring my glasses to read from the cards. However, I plunged ahead. Here I want to mention that I was 59 years old and my brother 25. The opening line I used was not in my repertoire; it just popped into my head right then and there. What I said was: "To those who don't know me I would like to introduce myself. I am Normans brother (pause) his older brother". This drew great applause and laughter from the audience of approximately 150 people. I thought "Allright", and had smooth sailing from then on. Several people told my afterwards how much they enjoyed my speech.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

MontDr — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:31:04 GMT

I disagree witht the Power Point issue. When one has speaking anxiety, PP is an excellent way to take the focus off of the speaker, give him time to relax and focus on the next comment, while not having the audience focus entirely on him or her . As one gets more confidence, the PP can be used less.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

FitBizGirl — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:25:30 GMT

Thanks for the cute comment eqhealth07! :)

Personally, I love public speaking. It gets my heart pumping! However, on point # 2...although rehearsing and memorizing is great, I still bring a postcard or 1/2 sheet with my general (and simple) outline with me to the podium. I've experienced an embarrassing situation at least once where I completely forgot my point.... No matter how short my speech, I always write out a few bullet points in large print so all I have to do is "glance down" at the paper to keep my speech on track.

Also, as a fitness instructor, I've learned the value of a "deeeep breath" before speaking. Calms us down and makes us more relaxed.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

emsue — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:30:59 GMT

Oh my gosh this was so good to read. I did join toastmasters but my secedule has been so crazy that I've been traveling every time the meeting was held the last two months. I have my first 'real' presentation next week and I'm going to be infront of 300 people! I'm ready and I did do a powerpoint because they asked me to BUT my heart is still fluttering and I need to calm myself down. Just thinking about it makes me feel excited and sort of really nervous.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

jammen — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:34:33 GMT

All that attention is quite the contradiction. And, what do contradictions do? They bring up feelings. And not just the feelings in the present. Old unresolved feelings will be felt too. The more the attention, the greater the contradiction, the greater the feelings. Large listening groups will always bring up feelings until the fear is resolved one way or another.

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

drharve — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:23:44 GMT

As an active Toastmaster for 40 years, I can tell you that participating in the Toastmaster program is the "BEST" way to become a stress free public speaker/presenter. The Toastmaster program provides the "how to" manuals, and the positive feed-back on our performance from club members, helps us to make the needed changes. I have witnessed amazing changes in hundreds of people, as they develop the skills of "Better Listening, Thinking and Speaking". Simply reading a book on the subject and picking up a few "tricks" will not do it - similar to reading a book on "How to Swim" and then jumping into the deep end of the pool, you drown. There are over 11,000 Toastmaster clubs in the world, check out

www.toastmasters.org for a club in your area, attend a meeting, you will be impressed, then start on your journey to becoming the public speaker/presenter you want to be. It is NOT an overnight miracle, however, it is a proven program that has helped millions over the past 84+ years.. drharve

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

TomRobinson — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 06:42:13 GMT

Like CogSciResearcher, I too disagree with the "They won't notice" tip. The book Be Heard Now: End Your Fear of Public Speaking Forever" by Lee Glickstein is the best book I've read on the subject. The chapter titles give a indication of the approach Glickstein recommends. Three of them are Being Yourself: ...., Connection is Everything: ..., and Vibrant Vulnerability: ... (the ...'s represent the chapter subtitles, which I'm omitting because some are quite lengthy). In his book, Glickstein makes it clear that he does not endorse the idea of "Rehearsing like a maniac."

re: Zap Your Butterflies When Speaking in Public

4Hand Healthy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:08:55 GMT

Butterflies in the stomach are proof of two nervous systems.(Central and Enteric).It's amazing how we are connected.