Yes, I am going to be on the April’s issue of Her World magazine as their “public speaking guru”. Was a teeny weeny bit disappointed because I thought the editor wanted me to be on their list of 50 eligible bachelors (coughs) where female readers can oogle at.

Oh well… at least I can now claim to be on a woman’s magazine right? The writer Zarelda asked very good questions. There were two in particular that will definitely be in version 2.0 of The FAQ Book on Public Speaking (more about it later) - (1) What are the myths revolving around public speaking? (2) What are some of the problems that female public speakers face?

Since it is going to be two months before you lady readers can view the answers, I shall give you a preview to one of the questions - WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE MYTHS REVOLVING AROUND PUBLIC SPEAKING?

1. To overcome your nervousness, imagine your audience naked.

Interestingly, this was raised during my recent TV interview at Prime Time Morning too.

The main rationale behind this myth is to put down your audience so that you feel more powerful than them. There are some who believe that this makeshift power will give them the courage to speak in front of their “naked” audience. However, if you have tried it, you will know how hard it is to imagine your audience naked.

Firstly you will be more distracted. Secondly, it doesn’t serve you. When you intentionally position yourself in power at your audience expense, you are sending out signals to your audience that you disregard them and that doesn’t exactly make you very popular with your audience.

Suggestion: Find out what’s causing you to be nervous. Is it a function of your unfamiliarity with the topic or audience? Or perhaps you are not well prepared? Sometimes it could also be the internal conversations you have in your head for eg, “you are not good enough”. Once you identify your source, the steps to overcoming your nervousness becomes obvious.

2. The Book of Lists ranks fear of public speaking as the #1 among other fears, including the fear of death.

However we all know that it is not true! Think about it, you may not be the first to volunteer to speak in front of a crowd of 1000 people. However, if you were to choose between speaking and walking a tight rope one thousand feet above ground, which will you choose? Speaking of course, unless you have a death wish.

The truth for that matter is people aren’t afraid of public speaking. They are afraid of public humiliation! As Asians especially, we are afraid of losing our face. Here’s how I know for sure. For the past three years, I have been doing a poll of what my clients are most afraid of when they speak in front of public. And here are the top three: (1) fear of audience walking out of them (2) fear of audience challenging what they say (3) fear of getting stuck and not knowing what to say. Notice that it all boils down to public humiliation?

Suggestion: Instead of worrying how you look in front of your audience, be audience-centric. This will help take the heat off you and allow you to focus on the things that you can control. For eg, your audience’s needs (is my speech solving their problems?), your environment (is the room cozy enough for my audience to concentrate) and of course your audience (what can I do to get to know them better?)

3. If you want to look natural on stage, you must wing your speech (i.e. don’t prepare and just speak off the cuff)

Unfortunately, not many people are able to speak off the cuff and still make sense. Hence when they try to wing a speech - which is usually out of laziness - they only look more unnatural in front of their audience. On top of battling their nerves (as a result of their lack of preparation), they have to struggle to connect with their audience and speak coherently. It takes a genius to pull this off!

The art is in hiding the art itself. Meaning to say, you must be so prepared that you appear natural on stage! Take Darren La Croix, 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking for example. At the final round of the competition, he looked surprisingly natural in spite of the pressure he is undergoing. He delivered his speech as if it was the first time he is doing so. He got his audience to laugh effortlessly on cue. In fact, he made public speaking looked like child’s play. However, the truth is one week before the finals, he made a point to deliver the same 7 minutes speech three times a day from Monday to Saturday. What he has done was effectively what a normal speaker will have done in a year. No wonder he is a natural on stage!

Suggestion: Do not give in to your laziness. Preparation is everything!

Check out some of the public speaking myths here that we have spoofed into videos. Pardon the quality though. There is a reason why it is called home-made videos.

Cheers,
Eric Feng
Your Public Speaking Coach

P.S: Conducted several lunch talks on public speaking last week and apparently at every Q & A session, there will bound to be someone who will ask me how to get rid of their ums and uhs (a.k.a pause fillers) So if you are one of them, click here to learn how to get rid of your pause fillers once and for all.

Other “Top Three” Entries
The 3 As To Improving Your Public Speaking Skills
3 Things Your Speech Can’t Do Without

—– Afternote —–

Here’s the feature article on April’s Her World (Thanks Zarelda!)

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