"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." - Salvador Dali
Thump…Thump…Thump. Your heart is beating so strong that you're convinced it can be heard in the neighboring county. You feel like your laptop will slip right through your sweaty palms. Anyone with public speaking experience has experienced this dreadful fear at some point in their career, and some continue to do so at every event. Presenting to a live audience, whether small or large, can bring the toughest of individuals to their knees. It remains no surprise that fear of public speaking lives near the top of the list of phobias, even ahead of death!
Live performances exist at the core of the Dynamic Sales dimension of the 3D Presales space, and as such, is not simply a desired attribute of success, but an essential one. For some, presenting comes naturally. But for those new to Presales, where it is not, this can be one of the biggest challenges you will ever face. Don't fret - you can not only overcome your fear, but harness it to improve and sharpen your delivery.
Fear is a natural response for all human beings, and thank goodness, because without it we'd be hard pressed to avoid dangers and improve our lives. The fear of failure, a common root to the fear of public speaking, is magnified when actually facing an audience. But don't stop there - fear rears its ugly head through a creative variety of mechanisms: variations in delivery venue (e.g. strapping a microphone to your shirt, projecting your face on a 10 foot high screen), lack of command of a topic, being asked tough questions, or even the occasional nothing-you-say-is-good contrarian.
While each person reacts somewhat differently to the pressure of fear, many common behaviors arise:
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Talking too fast, often leading to run-on sentences |
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Talking too much and not pausing for questions or feedback |
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Completely losing your thoughts or talk track |
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Using useless fill words such as 'um' or 'uh' |
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Avoiding eye contact with the audience |
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Not breathing or heavy panic breathing |
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Fiddling with items such as jewelry, a pen or even your mobile device |
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Lots of hand movement (waving hands around, moving mouse too much) |
Fear Not!
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