Public Speaking Preparation

Fear of public speaking statistics and facts on speech anxiety or so-called glossophobia in the Speech Topics Help Cure Fear of Public Speaking Section. Public speaking fear is called by many terms, like speech anxiety, stage fright, fear of speaking, speech phobia or performance anxiety. It's a social phobia that is related to self-presentation in front of an audience.

Scientists call it sometimes social anxiety disorder. Their medic term is glossophobia, it comes from the Greek words glossa andphobos. Glossa means tongue and phobos stands for fear or dread. Here is the most important educational fear of public speaking statistics, seven bare facts. These statistics are hard to find, so I have compiled one fact sheet, based on studies of national and international mental health institutes and governing bodies.

FACT ONE
Some surveys and research results show that most people rather die instead of talking in front of a live audience. This is a global fears top ten:
1. Fear of public speaking (Glossophobia)
2. Fear of death (Necrophobia)
3. Fear of spiders (Arachnophobia)
4. Fear of darkness (Achluophobia, Scotophobia or Myctophobia)
5. Fear of heights (Acrophobia)
6. Fear of people or social situations (Sociophobia)
7. Fear of flying (Aerophobia)
8. Fear of open spaces (Agoraphobia)
9. Fear of thunder and lightning (Brontophobia)
10. Fear of confined spaces (Claustrophobia)
Compare this to other top tens on speeching and you will notice that fear of public speaking is the absolute number one common phobia. It's even beating out the fear of death...

FACT TWO
Fear of public speaking has negative effects on careers and influences success in life negatively when you do nothing about it.

FACT THREE
Three out of every four individuals suffer from speech anxiety: that's 75 percent.

FACT FOUR
Up to 5 percent of the world population, yes, hundreds of millions aged between 18 and 54, experience this kind of social phobia in any given year.

FACT FIVE
Women and men are equally affected. Although there are fear of public speaking statistics that present figures in which more women suffer from speech anxiety related problems.

FACT SIX
More men than women seek treatment to cure fear of public speaking. Some public speakers have turned to beta-blockers or hypnosis therapy to find relief. But I prefer easy online self-help materials, like Instant Speaking Success, one of the best selling self-growth books.

FACT SEVEN
Social phobias often start with shyness in childhood or early adolescence, and progresses during adolescence, according to scientific studies of fear of public speaking statistics.

Some tips for public speaking preparation and delivery.

1. Select your topic and purpose.
2. Analyze your audience.
3. Research your topic.
4. Formulate your thesis and identify your main points.
5. Support your main points.
6. Organize your information.
7. Word your speech.
   
8. Construct your conclusion and introduction.
9. Rehearse your speech.
10. Deliver your speech.
    

• Know your material.

• Pick a topic you are interested in.
  
• Know more about it than you include in your speech.
  
• Use humor, personal stories and conversational language – that way you won’t easily forget what to say.

• Practice. Practice. Practice!

• Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using.
  
• Revise as necessary.
  
• Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe.
  
• Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.

• Know the audience.

• Greet some of the audience members as they arrive.
• It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers.

• Know the room.

• Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.

• Relax.

• Begin by addressing the audience.
  
• It buys you time and calms your nerves.
• Pause, smile and count to three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.)
  
• Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm.

• Visualize yourself giving your speech.

• Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident.
  
• Visualize the audience clapping – it will boost your confidence.

• Realize that people want you to succeed.

• Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining.
  
• They’re rooting for you.

• Don’t apologize.
  

• for any nervousness or problem – the audience probably never noticed it.

• Concentrate on the message – not the medium.

• Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience.

• Gain experience.

• Mainly, your speech should represent you — as an authority and as a person.
  
• Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking.

Reference :

1. http://www.speech-topics-help.com/fear-of-public-speaking-statistics.html
2. http://www.toastmasters.org/tips.asp
3. Joseph, A.D, Foundation of human communication, the skills of human communication, 6th edn.

DONE BY: ISHVERJIT SINGH