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Each week receive exciting news, tips, articles and advice on how to be the successful person you've always wanted to be.
"Self Improvement Front Line" will guide you along the path to achieving all your goals in life with regular sections on all the important facets of your personal development.
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Newsletter 012
In "Self Improvement Front Line" this week:
* Give Yourself A Chance of Success
* Visualize Conquering Fear of Public Speaking
* Be Prepared
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Give Yourself A Chance of Success
In this week's newsletter you can read two articles focussed
upon developing the skills of public speaking. I'm sure you'll
find them interesting but even if you have no intention of
getting up and making a speech, their contents are still
relevant.
Whatever you wish to achieve in life the chances are that you
are going to have to conquer a fear or overcome a lack of
confidence and develop new skills. So the techniques for
becoming an accomplished public speaker can be adopted to
whatever it is you are seeking to achieve.
The secret is to give yourself the best possible chance of
attaining success. So start by focussing on your own skills
and abilities - list everything you can do, no matter how small
or insignificant you think it may be. You wil soon see that you
have lots to be proud of and that is bound to boost your
confidence.
Then consider the subject of your goal and again write down
everything you know about it. Gather all the knowledge and
information you can and absorb yourself in your topic.
Think about how your existing skills match up to your aims and
decide what else you need to learn or acquire. And don't be
afraid to ask for help! People really will be pleased to give
you help and advice on something they know about. The worse
they can do is say no!
Visualize yourself doing exactly what it is you want to
achieve and what you will do and how you will feel when you
have accomplished it. Tell yourself how great you feel.
Whatever it is, be prepared , have a plan, and stick to it.
Success will follow!
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Visualize Conquering Fear of Public Speaking
By Deborah Torres Patel
I'm convinced that it's nearly impossible to get through
life without speaking in public. Perhaps you are asked to
give a toast at a wedding. Maybe you want to give a eulogy
at a dear friend's funeral. Maybe you're invited to speak
to a group of potential contributors for the charitable
organization you're a part of. Maybe you are called upon to
speak to your peers at work to give an update on your
department's progress.
Whatever the case may be, there are so many situations in
life where we could find ourselves standing in front of a
group of people and trying to inform or persuade them. How
would you do in that situation?
For some, the fear of public speaking is debilitating
enough for them to do whatever is necessary to get out of
the situation. For many, that fear causes extreme anxiety
but they push through and speak anyway. Being able to speak
effectively means potentially advancing in your work or
social life or bringing honor to the deserving person
you're speaking about. It's important, then, to be able to
speak effectively and to overcome your fear.
One way to help you is with a visualization technique. I
advise people who are planning on presenting to visualize
themselves taking the stage and giving an incredible
presentation. The result? They feel the scenario long
before they deal with it and they enjoy the visualized
success. This builds confidence and having confidence helps
to create actual success. Here's how you can visualize your
way to a successful presentation:
First, imagine that you're sitting there in the room.
Imagine the room and its surroundings in detail, including
the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and temperature. Are
there others nearby? Is someone wearing perfume? Did you
just drink the too-strong coffee? Picture the scenario
exactly as you expect it to be.
Next, imagine yourself being called to the stage in the
manner that will likely happen. Sometimes it's an
introduction by the Master of Ceremonies, or maybe it's a
glowing report by your manager. Imagine yourself standing
and walking to the stage. In your imagination, think about
every step you'll take and each breath you inhale and
exhale as you go.
Now, imagine taking the stage and beginning your speech.
Imagine the speech in detail: visualize yourself speaking,
thinking on the spot, interacting with the audience. Don't
gloss over your speech, but actually deliver it while doing
this visualization exercise. Imagine yourself hearing your
voice booming over the audio system. Imagine yourself
referencing some of the visuals that you might have with
you. Imagine the sights and sounds that you'll experience
as you present.
Lastly, imagine the audience. As you present, visualize
them enthusiastically responding to you. Imagine them
nodding in agreement or writing copious notes because of
what you have to say. And finally, imagine them applauding
enthusiastically as you finish and then rushing out to
perform the ultimate action you want them to take (for
example, to donate money to your cause or to buy the
product you're selling). Visualization: it's an effective
way to practice your presentation.
About the Author:
Deborah Torres Patel is an internationally acclaimed Voice
& Presentation Coach. Sign up for a complimentary 35 lesson
voice & presentation skills online training course at
http://www.expressingyou.com . To dramatically reduce fear
of public speaking, register for 20 free lessons at
http://www.fearlessinfive.com .
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Be Prepared
One of the keys to developing the skills of speaking in public
is practice and being willing to speak whenever the opportunity
arises.
After all if you are out with a group of friends and talking to
them then you are actually talking in public. There may also be
occasions in your work or college life where you will talk with
a group of associates.
In both of these situations you probably find it easy to talk
and find it quite natural. And so ,with practice, you will in
all of your speaking experiences. The secret is having
confidence that you know your subject.
Some years back I was employed as a salesman in the construction
industry. A large part of my job was meeting with architects to
advise on the technical aspects of the company's products and to
gain specifications for them on building projects.
On one occasion my company had just published an updated
technical manual and I needed to present it to my contacts.That
normally meant arranging an appointment and sitting down one on
one to go through the manual. That is what I expected when I
arrived for my appointment with a good contact.
Boy was I in for a surprise!
It was probably my fault, but he had thought that I wanted to
make the presentation to each team in the Architect's practice.
So I was suddenly faced with making a presentation to the 8 Team
Leaders.
Time for a bit of quick thinking!
I bought myself some time by making the excuse to go back out to
my car to fetch in some more copies of the literature. That gave
me a few moments to go through in my mind how to approach it.
The upshot was that I spent around an hour making the presentation
and answering questions. In fact I made some new contacts and as
a result secured some profitable new business.
Now I'm not expecting that you will be in this sort of situation.
But the key to being able to handle it was preparation.
Put simply,
- I had learned the skills required to make a presentation,
- I knew the background and expectations of my audience,
- I had taken the time to make sure I knew my subject thoroughly,
- I had the "props" necessary to illustrate my topic,
- I did not panic because I knew I could do it.
When you are required to speak in public you should consider all
of these factors. It may not happen, but if you ensure that you
know your subject to the extent that you could talk confidently
about it at a moment's notice, then you will truly become a
confident and effective speaker.
You can discover more about becoming a confident speaker by
getting hold of a copy of "How To Become A confident and
Persuasive Public Speaker". Just follow the link below to find
out more:
http://www.selfimprovementskills.com/publicspeaking.html
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