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You can’t avoid it forever. You know you’d get
more opportunities at work (and more pay!) if you could
just Get Over It. From the first time you realized
your knees were knocking in third grade, public speaking
has filled you with a dread worse than the siren of a
cruising cop pulling up behind you.
Presentation coaching can be your best friend.
You know it’s irrational, and have tried many times to
talk yourself out of it; the mortality rate while
standing in front of a flip chart, after all, is
remarkably low. You can rock climb, wind surf or
downhill ski with the best of them but managing the
sweaty hands and thundering heart in front of more than,
well, two or three people just seems
to be beyond you.
So, what’s the deal here? How do people get good
at this, or at least convince themselves they can
survive it? Here is the key: when you feel the
classic “symptoms”, (to begin with, why don’t we call
them “sensations” instead? After all, you’re not
actually sick, are you Pumpkin?) you distract yourself
from the usual caving-in-and-falling-apart process you
know all too well by re-interpreting your body’s signals
as excitement. Your formula has been “public
speaking=nausea”. The new plan is
“nausea=butterflies=enthusiasm!”
Yes, EXCITEMENT! Sure, it feels good to be
excited, and bad to be nervous, but isn’t it a bit
similar? The heart sensation, a kind of lifting in
the chest; that charged-up feeling, an urge to move (yes
it may be an urge to run away, but don’t give in because
you can do public speaking, you really can). These
are all feelings we welcome in other circumstances.
So why not try playing a little trick on yourself and looking at this from a
different angle next time? Where’s the harm- it can’t make it any worse,
can it? If you have something to say to a group, consider that your body
is preparing itself rather than about to betray you once again.
Professional public speakers use that “power surge” feeling to their advantage
and so can you. Look for opportunities to practice and before you know it
you will be able to put your focus outward and enjoy your audience!
Coaching Articles by
Kate McNulty
Relationship Advice Coaching -- Boundaries and Dating
Relationship Counseling -- Using Conflict to Build
Closer Relationships
Personal Coach for a Woman -- Appreciation of the Body in
Everyday Life
Notes
from a Portland Oregon Career Coach
Leadership Executive Coaching
Business
Entrepreneur Coaching
Personal Growth
Coach on Getting Rid of Fear of Risk
Life Skills Coach on
Goal-Setting
Life Change Coaching
- Goal-Setting Part II
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