Books to Help Overcome Fear of Public Speaking


Fearless Public Speaking: Three Simple Steps to Overcome the Fear of Making Presentations
by Anne L. Anastasi Cltp


ISBN: 059538305x


Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
This book should be mandatory reading for anyone in business who has ever been asked to make a presentation.

-Rick Wolff, Editorial Director, Warner Business Books

Our annual convention was a great success and your segments on the agenda received rave reviews. I believe that your name on the agenda played a big part in boosting our attendance. Following your presentation I heard one member say I would listen to her talk about anything.

-Jill Trapp, Executive Director Tennessee Land Title Association

Does the pit of your stomach ache at the thought of making a speech? Don't panic! Professional speaker Anne L. Anastasi can help with her innovative book, Fearless Public Speaking.

Filled with practical advice for anyone who needs to make a public presentation- whether the talk is to one person or an auditorium filled with thousands Fearless Public Speaking will help you overcome the fear of public speaking.

Amateurs and professionals alike will benefit from using Anastasi's three simple steps: prepare, practice, and present with passion. Seasoned speechmakers will learn new ways to handle difficult situations using humor and humility, and college students will gain the confidence need to present themselves better.

Fearless Public Speaking will even help those who would like to feel more comfortable in front of others. Improve your speaking skills, tame your fears, and become more productive in your professional and personal lives!


A Speech Giver's Notebook: Tips, Inspirations, Worksheets, Cut-Out Cue Cards to Take the Fear Out of Public Speaking
by Matthew Teacher

ISBN: 0762415843


Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
This practical and inspiring journal is a clever tool to help inexperienced speakers overcome their natural fears about performing in public.
Synopsis:
Studies show that public speaking is the average person's number one fear. Practical and inspiring, this clever new entry in our successful line of parchment journals is a proactive tool for optimum preparation, designed specifically to help the speaker conceptualize and organize the structure of his or her speech. It includes user-friendly worksheet pages, sections for final presentation--even cue cards to cut out and take to the podium. There's moral support in the form of enlightening quotations from a variety of speakers, including proven experts in the field as Stephen R. Covey and Colin Powell.

Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice

Next, practice! Keep in mind that a ten-minute talk is between 1600-1800 words. Try taping the speech, and then listening to it. Pay attention to the things you did not say, and the things you did not need to say. Edit accordingly.

• When you give your speech, treat it like you are talking to your audience, not reading a script.
  
• Look people in the eye, and have a conversation with them.
  
• Use an outline, not a script. This will help you to stay on track, but prohibit reading the information.

Consider bringing a handout, specifically if you are giving an informational talk. This will give your audience a focal point, and the ability to follow along. Also, if the media will be following your speech, this will give them a reliable reference.

• Watch your audience for feedback during your speech.
  
• Look for attention signs.
  
• If they are looking at you with interest, you are doing a good job.
  
• If they are fidgeting and looking all around, you need to step it up a notch.

Finally, have a question and answer session at the end of your speech. Think about the questions people will have on your topic. Have prepared answers ready. Do not be afraid to say you don't know if you don't. Refrain from making up answers, but be prepared for whatever you possibly can.

Public speaking is a scary endeavor, but proper preparation can make it a lot easier. Take these tips to heart, and keep them in mind the next time you have a public speaking opportunity.

Michael Russell

Good Advice



I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.

- John Cage

---

The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.
- Linus Pauling

It is not enough to know how to ride. You must also know how to fall.
- Mexican Proverb

---

There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos
- Jim Hightower

---

Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.
- Alfred A. Montapert

---

---

Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to the end, requires some of the same courage which a soldier needs.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Please consider

sometimes getting rid of the fear
that stands in the way of persuasive
public speaking or effective personal
communication is a lack of needed
self-confidence. Here's some help:

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
about self-esteem and how it relates
to assertiveness and success in life
http://assertivenesssucceeds.blogspot.com
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Relax and Speak


Keep in mind that a ten-minute talk is between 1600-1800 words. Try taping the speech, and then listening to it. Pay attention to the things you did not say, and the things you did not need to say. Edit accordingly.

• When you give your speech, treat it like you are talking to your audience, not reading a script.
  
• Look people in the eye, and have a conversation with them.
  
• Use an outline, not a script. This will help you to stay on track, but prohibit reading the information.

Consider bringing a handout, specifically if you are giving an informational talk. This will give your audience a focal point, and the ability to follow along. Also, if the media will be following your speech, this will give them a reliable reference.

• Watch your audience for feedback during your speech.
  
• Look for attention signs.
  
• If they are looking at you with interest, you are doing a good job.
  
• If they are fidgeting and looking all around, you need to step it up a notch.

Finally, have a question and answer session at the end of your speech. Think about the questions people will have on your topic. Have prepared answers ready. Do not be afraid to say you don't know if you don't. Refrain from making up answers, but be prepared for whatever you possibly can.

Public speaking is a scary endeavor, but proper preparation can make it a lot easier. Take these tips to heart, and keep them in mind the next time you have a public speaking opportunity.

Michael Russell