Public Speaking  

DO YOU HATE SPEAKING IN PUBLIC?

  Fear of speaking in public often began when we were children and sometimes stays with us through adulthood.  You might want to give a presentation in front of a group of peers, or the PTA, or the local business associatin, or have to give a toast at a wedding, or give a work proposal in front of a large audience, and just feel paralyzed.  For some of us the nervousness comes from facing an unfamiliar experience or a large audience.  For others, we unconsciously bring back memories of critical teachers, or parents or classmates who made fun of us.  If we are perfectionists we feel that we must be brilliant or we have created a disaster.  And many women feel inadequate because they simply feel that their feelings just don't count.

 Reasons for this dilema are different from person to person, but the symptoms are very predictable:   you have a rapid, pounding heartbeat, you are shaking, your palms are sweaty, you are prespiring, your mouth is dry, you are out of breath, and you are speaking in a high pitched voice (not your own).  Some of us suffer for days in anticipation of having to speak in public, others are fine until they get right up there.  No matter how public speaking affects you, there are some stategies that can help you to calm your nerves and say your piece more effectively.  

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