Transform Your Fear Of Public Speaking

Learn How To Get Over Your Fear Of Public Speaking 

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As an executive, manager, or entrepreneur, public speaking is one of the most important assets you will need to bring to the table in your role. It is your job to be in front of others and speak clearly and effectively about your business. As the leader of your organization, you represent the entire company and so all eyes are always on you. Having the ability to speak in public is one of the most important assets you will need to bring to the table as the leader of the company. Yet so many managers, CEO’s, and C-Level executives lack effective public speaking skills, which is why many turn to executive coaching.

Public Speaking Is An Important Business Tool

Public speaking is one of the most important skills that every individual needs to develop. Politicians, lawyers and professional speakers are not the only ones who need this in their career because the truth is, we all need such a skill for every aspect in our lives such as giving a speech during your best friend’s wedding or for speaking up when you are not sure of something and asking a simple question (Authors Note: It never ceases to amaze me how people won’t even speak up for themselves for the most “mundane” things because they fear what others might think) But in business, public speaking is one of the most important components of growing ones business because public perception of a company adds weight and value to the organization. How people “perceive” the company as either being weak or strong is going to be dependent on your public speaking skills and the ability to speak in front of others with charisma, confidence, and strength.

Why Do We Fear Public Speaking?

A lot of people fear public speaking and standing in front of an audience. Many people even reach a point whereby they feel severe anxiety and bring on a panic attack. This is usually caused by the fear of blundering in front of others and worrying what they will think of you. Because of their fear of making fools out of themselves, they choose to just sit down and keep silent.  But for a CEO, manager, or entrepreneur, this is not acceptable. These positions will require you to be able to speak effectively in front of other people which is why it is imperative you develop your public speaking skills.

Because many individuals lack public speaking skills, executive coaching companies are brought in to help these individuals become better public speakers. Through their leadership development skills and personal experience, an executive coach can offer the client being coached an opportunity to develop and polish their ability to speak in public. Not only with practice, but also by offering real world experience showing these managers what it takes to deliver a powerful speech.  Your executive coach can help you get to the root cause of your fears and guide you to turn off the inner critical voice that worries too much about what others might think and teach you how to start listening to you true powerful voice.

Fear Of Public Speaking In Your Office

Developing strong public speaking skills will help you further your business objective and help you create the success you seek. Fear of public speaking is one of the most common social phobias individuals experience and those who find it hard to speak out in front of an audience often have a difficult time in their workplace as well. Avoiding people and certain situations, blaming yourself and inability to think of an effective problem solving approach are just some of the characteristics of people who are afraid of public speaking. Within an organizations work environment, fear of public speaking tends to come up in the following manners:

• I don’t want to look like I don’t know what I am doing
• I don’t want to create conflict with someone
• I don’t want people to think I disagree with others

These scenarios are very common for most workplace environments and just wreak havoc on the ability for a company to succeed and move forward with its objectives. As a manager or director, it is your job to lead by example and speaking clearly is one of the most powerful ways of doing so.

How Executive Coaching Can Help You With Your Fear of Public Speaking

With the help of a CEO coach, you can learn how to overcome your fear of public speaking and get to the root causes of your anxiety problems. Your coach will teach you proper relaxation techniques, visualizations, affirmations and the learning skills and strategies needed for an effective delivery of public speeches. By learning such, you will soon be successful in eradicating your fear of public speaking and boost your self-confidence every time you stand in front of an audience to deliver a speech. Pretty soon, you will find public speaking enjoyable, rewarding and an empowering life long skill.

Public Speaking and Delivering Presentations

We have to face the fact that having the ability to speak in public with confidence and in a persuasive manner is one of the most vital skills an executive needs. This is also the same as delivering a report or presentation in front of a team in the office. By undergoing executive coaching¸ you can learn how to effectively deliver and present your ideas in front of people whom you do not know. Undergoing training sessions can help you be in total control of yourself in order to make a good impression to your audience. This can be done by making sure that the first lines of your speech are delivered with clarity and confidence thus, giving you the boost to continue the rest of your speech without any problems.

Voice Coaching

When engaging public speaking, you need to make sure that you make an impact and influence your audience through your voice and confidence. If you do not have enough experience in delivering speeches in front of a large audience, your executive coach might decide to bring in a voice coach who can bring out the true essence in your voice. Although you may feel passionate towards your material, there is still a chance that you won’t be able to convey the right message through your voice thus, leaving your audience bored and uninspired. Some of the things that executive coaching can correct in your public speaking skills include:

• Projecting confidence
• Timing
• The voice lacking variety
• The speed and intonation of voice
• Lack of conviction and energy during delivery

By working with a professional coach, you can correct these issues and improve your delivery.

Improving Public Speaking Through Your Body Language

Public speaking and leaving a good impression on your audience is all dependent on the presence and use of body language. Undergoing executive coaching can correct and enhance your ability to make the most out of your actions when standing in front of an audience. Even your stance can already say a lot about you, so it is your duty to make sure that you stand strong and engaging, but in a relaxed manner. Negative body language on the other hand, can bring adverse effect to the message you are trying to deliver thus, affecting how your audience perceive you and can even reduce your overall credibility as a speaker.

In your sessions with an executive coach and voice coach, some of the things they might point out are:

Focus

Make sure your speech has two or three main points that help keep your speech focused

Eye contact

In public speaking, eye contact is going to be one of the most crucial components to your speech. It will tell your audience whether you are confident or not. Building a better understanding and rapport with your audience is possible by making eye contact with them. It is important that you look at your audience in the eye when delivering your speech.

Gestures

Gestures are ways of enhancing the message you are trying to convey and making them more powerful and meaningful. These actions will also reflect in your voice and make it sound more dynamic and leave a huge impact on your audience.

Space

Using space in commanding your audience can say a lot about you and your presence as a speaker. Being at ease in their space can deliver a strong presence and help you command the audience.

Public Speaking and Letting Go Of Expectations

One of the biggest mental challenges of public speaking for many executives is the desire to always want to be perfect. For many managers there is this inherent need and desire to always want to be perfect and that somehow if you make a mistake you will be seen as being weak. Ironically it is this belief that creates most anxiety for managers and executives when it comes to public speaking that causes all the stress and anxiety. Once you learn to let go of expectations and relax, you will see that speaking in public is quite easy.

Being good in public speaking is dependent on your confidence and belief in your skills and talents. This skill is what makes an executive effective into leading his team to success. If you think you still need help in developing your public skills, please visit our Executive Coaching Directory