PROBLEM

FEMALE

“I am afraid to express my views in a big mass but I like to give my opinions or views. I am also scared of making mistakes while speaking. Please help me to overcome this problem.”

SOLUTION:
by psychological counselor Sama Maharjan

Fear of public speaking is a common phobia. The fear of public speaking is the number one fear in North America. Relax, you are not alone. The best thing is you are willing to contribute your opinions and thoughts which is the first step to overcome your fear. Don’t expect yourself to be speaking in front of hundreds people overnight. The confidence and skill comes with preparation and persistence. Here are few ways you can overcome your fears.

• Know your topic. The better you understand what you’re talking about — and the more you care about the topic — the less likely you’ll make a mistake or get off track. And if you do get lost, you’ll be able to recover quickly.
• Get organized. Ahead of time, carefully plan out the information you want to present, including any props, audio or visual aids you’ll use. The more organized you are, the less nervous you’ll be.
• Practice, and then practice some more. Practice your complete presentation several times. Do it for a few people you’re comfortable with. Ask them to give you feedback. Or, record it with a video camera and watch it so that you can see opportunities for improvement( If you are doing presentation). If its just generally giving opinion, challenge yourself to speak first.
• Visualize your success. Imagine that you spoke well. Positive thoughts can help decrease some of your negativity about your social performance and relieve some anxiety.
• Do some deep breathing. This can be very calming. Take two or more deep, slow breaths before you speak up.
• Focus on your ideas and thoughts not on what others will say.
• Don’t be afraid of a moment of silence. If you lose track of what you’re saying or you begin to feel nervous and your mind goes blank, it can seem like you’ve stopped talking for an eternity. But in reality, it’s probably only a few seconds. Even if it’s longer, it’s likely your audience won’t mind a pause to consider what you’ve been saying. This might be a good time to take a few slow, deep breaths.

Try doing these few basic steps and appreciate yourself whenever you find yourself speaking overcoming the fear. Support yourself and others will support you too.

Best of luck. Keep challenging your comfort-zone and SPEAK UP YOUR MIND.

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