Eliminate the Fear of Public Speaking

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It’s easy to eliminate the fear of public speaking if you know this simple technique.

At a recent public speaking event, I was asked by an audience member if I get nervous before or during presentations.

The short answer I gave her is “No.”

Fear of public speaking is a problem I’ve helped people deal with for a long time now, and I’d like to share a few tips with you.

I’ve been speaking for over 20 years.

Like most people, when I started out, I was nervous and very uncomfortable on stage.

And talk about tough audiences! My first experience speaking was to aspiring Special Forces Marines.

I was a corporal in the US Marine Corps at the time, and my command (i.e. bosses) sent me around to different units to present an overview to Marines interested in trying out for our unit.

What I was ‘selling’ was a lifestyle much more dangerous than other Marines.

Audience response was much different than speaking to a trade association. You don’t want to be boring to a bunch of guys with rifles!

One of the things I learned early on was you want to be worth watching. You want to have such great content, or be so entertaining (ideally both), that the audience doesn’t want your presentation to end.

As Dan Kennedy says; “don’t be boring.”

Know What They Want

With the Marines, I had dozens of slides (before Powerpoint) that I showed of Special Forces Operators jumping out of planes, SCUBA diving, sliding down ropes (FAST Roping), and blowing stuff up. They loved this stuff, I couldn’t show enough of it.

With your service offering, what does your ideal client want? Perhaps case studies demonstrating you understand what they’re going through – and you know how to fix it.

At last week’s speaking engagement, I spoke to the meeting planner before the event to learn the make-up of the crowd. What industries and types of business people were represented in the crowd? What were their stated problems? What did successful presenters do in the past?

Just this step will move you ahead of most speakers.

Make a Plan

In the Marines, we had a plan for everything. It seemed we couldn’t go to the bathroom without a plan. But, there’s an important lesson here. When you have a plan, you have organization, structure and focus toward a desired outcome.

How can you get where you’re going if you don’t know where that is?

Last week I had 30 minutes, I knew the audience, I knew what worked for past speakers, and what didn’t, I knew what they wanted, and I had a plan to deliver it.

I had all my information in a coherent, 30-minute presentation focused on entertaining the audience while creating an environment for them to learn something – if they chose.

The result?

They asked if I’d go over the allotted time to answer questions, and then I stayed after for another 20 minutes of questions before I left. And the sales received validated my effort.

Dealing with the Nerves

You may get nervous before and during your presentation. Or maybe you get anxious just thinking about speaking. You may be worrying about messing up, not being good, getting booed or having food thrown at you. I understand that, however, let me give you a different perspective to consider.

I haven’t gotten nervous before (or during) a speaking event in years.

Here’s why – I don’t focus on me at all before or during. My focus is on serving the audience and delivering a high-value experience.

I understand they’re spending 30 minutes, an hour or more with me, I want them grateful they chose to spend that time with me.

If you think about it, we have no problems when we’re externally focused on serving others. It’s not personal, it’s just about being of service. Isn’t this what ‘purpose’ is all about?

By keeping my focus on what would make a great, entertaining and educational presentation, I keep my focus on the audience.

During the presentation, I keep a watchful eye on the audience, managing energy, and paying attention to what parts of my presentation really resonate (head nods) and which parts fall flat (glassed over eyes).

The whole time I’m focused on them and creating a memorable event.

Long ago, that technique eliminated my fear of public speaking and started making it fun. Presenting to groups ever since has been a joy.

What has worked for you?

To Your Millionaire!

David Koons
FreeAgentCoach.com

PS – Click here to learn more about some of my favorite resources to enhance my speaking skills.

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Tags: David Koons, fear of public speaking, Free Agent Coach, public speaking tips