MIAMI, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — It’s a throat-tightening fear that terrifies most of us. Three out of four of us suffer from it. Officially, it’s called glossophobia, but you probably know it as the fear of public speaking. Symptoms include intense anxiety simply at the thought of having to talk in front of any group, no matter how big or small.
Falling off a cliff, drowning in the ocean or bitten by a rattlesnake are all big fears. But they fall short of America’s biggest fear: talking in front of groups. Public speaking! Hedy Schleifer, an international public speaker and relationship specialist, says the first way we can fight the fear is to ‘open up the room‘, not just fill it.
“Opening the room is making a connection really with who’s there in the room and allowing what’s in the room to begin to come to the surface so there is a real connection. Be all out there; who you really are in the moment with your vitality,” Schleifer explained.
That way you can be yourself and grab their attention immediately.
Mark Schulman, long-time drummer for P!NK, said, “Find the easiest go-to story the thing that you can do the best, the thing you’ve rehearsed the most and that’s what you start with.”
Schulman also gets paid to speak and write. His book is all about performing well. “Truth is it’s all about three core concepts: clarity, capability, and confidence,” he told Ivanhoe.
Or…you can try it Hedy’s way: “I decided to really connect with this audience…I said to them…eat a live turd in the morning; nothing worse will happen to you all day long.”
If you’re looking to practice public speaking and receive feedback from an audience, try toastmasters international. It is an organization with over 300,000 members who are all looking to improve their speaking and leadership skills. For more information on finding a meeting in your local area, go to www.toastmasters.org.
Contributors to this news report include: Janna Ross, Producer; Gabriella Battistiol, Producer; Katie Campbell, Assistant Producer; Jesse Draus, Videographer; Dave Harrison, Editor.
To receive a free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs from Ivanhoe, sign up at: http://www.ivanhoe.com/ftk
