Last week I admitted that I was a victim of a self limiting belief.
I love small group training sessions but the thought of speaking in public to a large group sends a shudder down my spine and makes me back-track rapidly.
Unfortunately this is starting to hold me back as I have ducked and dived under a few recent opportunities as I become more established.
- A couple of months ago I was asked to give a talk on Guerrilla Marketing because I am one of the few certified Guerrilla Marketing coaches in the UK.
"How many will be there?" I asked?
"Hopefully about 40 to 50" was the answer. The alarm lights were flashing in my mind and I declined the opportunity.
- Last month, one of the local radio stations in the West Midlands called me and asked me if I would be a guest adviser on a particular subject. This time the alarm bells were ringing along with the flashing lights. Fortunately it wasn't a subject I knew much about so I was able to salvage my conscience that way rather than face up to the fact that I was "chicken."
- This week, one of the UK national television stations called and asked if I would be interested in talking to them about appearing on a TV programme. You didn't see me for dust.
Do you have the same problem?
You have probably heard of the survey that asked people what scared them the most.
In first place was speaking in public, in second place, walking in to a room full of strangers and third, death.
I don't know about you but if someone gave me the ultimatum "Talk to this group of people or I'll shoot you", I think I could just about manage to mumble away but it does show you just how common is the fear of public speaking.
Poor Public Speaking Performance Confirms The Belief
If your mind is telling you that "you are no good at public speaking" and "public speaking scares you", guess what?
The next time you speak in public you will live up to your mind's expectations.
Remember the Law of Attraction as featured in the film The Secret - you attract what you think about.
You force yourself to do it but you don't enjoy it and to be honest, you're probably not very good. A few kind people may come up and say that "it was interesting" but no one will enthuse.
Here's The Good News - It Doesn't Have To Be Like That
Public speaking is a skill that can be learned and mastered. Then your self talk becomes positive and people will tell you that your talk was great.
Michael Port, author of best selling books "Book Yourself Solid" and "Beyond Booked Solid" has given me permission to republish his Think Big Revolution Monday teleseminars on my blog so I've gone back to last year and found two recordings to help you improve your public speaking skills.
Michael is a great speaker himself but as a former film and television actor, you would expect him to know the inside tricks.
Public Speaking Call 1 - Michael Port and Marcia Wieder
Join Michael in his discussion with America's Dream Coach, Marcia Wieder, as they talk about how to confidently deliver an inspiring message to an audience - whether it be 1, 100, or 1000 people.
Marcia has appeared on Oprah, The Today show, and in her own PBS-TV special. She has written several books which have been translated into numerous languages. As past president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, she was often in the White House where she met former U.S. presidents, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and George Bush Sr. In addition, as a columnist for Motto magazine and The San Francisco Chronicle, she urged readers to take "The Great Dream Challenge."
Learn from Marcia's extensive experience about how to improve your speaking abilities - to become an inspiring speaker! Discover the technique of weaving stories into your presentation to create the impact that you're looking for.
A course is mentioned but this was in October 2007 but if you are interested, it will be worth checking out the website for any repeats.
Download this mp3 audio
Public Speaking call 2 - Michael Port and Patricia Fripp
Join Michael as he enlists the help of Patricia Fripp, who was the first female President of the National Speakers Association. As a public speaking expert, Meetings and Conventions Magazine called her, "one of the country's 10 most electrifying speakers".
Learn how to move from being good at giving presentations to being great at giving presentations with advice from the experts! Discover the tools to use to become fully self-expressed, to catapult to the next level.
Download this mp3 audio
The Benefits Of Audio Learning
I love audio learning because the emotion of the words and the personality of the speaker come over so much better than in writing.
But the problem is you can't scan so I like to listen to recordings using FasterAudio (affiliate link) which allows me to speed up calls through the introductory fluff and bits that aren't relevant to me and then slow it down for the key sections.
Say after me "I am a great public speaker and I love it. I speak to small and large groups regularly and it is always very successful.
Join Michael Port's Think Big Revolution
Michael Port wants you to Think Big and has created these regular teleseminars to help you.
If you would like to sign up for news of the calls as they happen then pop over to Michael Port's site and sign up to the Think Big Revolution
(affiliate link)
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