Do You Have An
INTENSE Fear of Public Speaking

Your F.E.A.R.
How many of us have an INTENSE fear of public speaking.
A Show of hands, Please…

If you all don’t experience f.e.a.r. when speaking, you’re either lying to yourselves or to lying to yourselves. Truth is, I have an INTENSE f.e.a.r. of public speaking. Indulge me for the next few minutes while I lead us down the path of the exploration of f.e.a.r.

The Dark Side of
Public Speaking F.e.a.r.

Darkness has been linked to evil, bad, and negative events. True or True? Ok…so let me ask, where does this come from. Answer, Our Childhood…Freud’s ultimate psycho-sexual stages of development. Let me tell you all a story…May I?

Once upon a time (1965), there was a little 5 y/o boy. One guess who that boy was…ME! The boy was asked to give a graduation speech by his kindergarten teacher. Of course, the little boy replied, I’m scared; Teacher…But I’ll do it for you!

The boy, aka ME, practiced and practiced until he had the speech “down cold.” His dress rehearsals were hitch less upon drilling in front of peers within the kindergarten house. Until the day of…

The Boy was transported to a Large building. The building has a marquis...the boy was very smart, and read the words, BOOKER…T…WASHINGTON…HIGH SCHOOL. Yes, y’all are correct; the boy’s speech was to be delivered within the High School Auditorium. For you see, The Boy was the Valedictorian.

The Seeds of Public Speaking F.e.a.r.

The Boy was frightened…Scratch that, HE WAS TERRIFIED. The stage was monstrous; the auditorium was Vast and dark (there’s that word again, DARK). And to top it off, the boy was required to deliver the Keynote (he hadn’t rehearsed the sequence). The Boy went out, faced the crowd, began crying, and FROZE. Then, the ultimate symbol of f.e.a.r. and embarrassment occurred. He literally… wet his pants…pause for effect

Granted, most would-be speakers don’t experience this type of trauma…This type of what_______? Yet ALL experience some degree of f.e.a.r. What is f.e.a.r.? Definitions anyone_____? Here is mine: False Evidence Appearing Real. Also within this category, I must include Fear’s Ugly Twin Sisters, Doubt, and Worry (sorry ladies; no offense intended). Motivational Speaker, Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup Book series co-author) terms the F in f.e.a.r. as Fantasizing, E..A.R. In other words, DOUBT & WORRY. In others words, What Folks, _____! Thank-you.

What are we worried about? 1) Forgetting our speech? 2) Losing our nerve? 3) Looking Stupid…
How about this one, peeing in our…Ok, worst case scenario, one or ALL of the above happens! Sure, we’re devastated and embarrassed. Yet, it’s within moments such as these, that we grow and excel…provided, we neuro-linguistically re-frame this Significant Emotional Event (SEE) as an opportunity vs. disaster. (Easier said than done…agreed?)

Let Me Tell You the Parable
of Satan and St. Peter

Way back in the bowels of time, Satan and St. Peter were having a conversation about the Temptation of Man. St. Peter postulated the merits of (Hu)Mankind’s redemption, acceptance, and everlasting place with the Kingdom of Heaven. Satan, fortified his position by accentuating Man’s weakness, temptation, and selfishness.

St. Peter wasn’t swayed, annoyed, nor afraid…for He knew that his powers were superior to that of Satan. Moreover, Satan remained confident, because he had a secret and very potent weapon within his arsenal. As a source of pride and vanity, Satan decided to share his secret with St. Peter. So without hesitation, he began…
Of all the powers, tricks, and allure that I could use to capture the Soul of Man, there are only TWO that I rely most upon. Yes, they are my Pride & Joy. And, they are…

FEAR and her Ugly Twin Sister, DOUBT. For you see, once I’m able to plant these seeds into the Thoughts of Man, my work is done. Because, you see, I can simply sit back and relax. (Hu)Man him/herself, will themselves, be the cause of their Own undoing.

The 3 Step Formulas for Conquering Public Speaking f.e.a.r.

How many, via show-of-hands, believe that we could spend an entire day, week, month, year, or lifetime exploring strategies and drills to overcome public speaking f.e.a.r. Yes, of course we could. Yet, how many minutes do we actually have right now…Anyone____5-7__?

So, here’s the secret bottled sauce formula to conquering public speaking f.e.a.r. in 3 easy steps. Everyone Ready?
1) P
2) P
3) P
Sum Total= 3…Yes, It’s the 3 P’s. Go back to my earlier analogy/demonstration of the little boy wetting… A wise old {Toastmaster} once said, “Piss-Poor Planning leads to Piss-Poor Performance.” Stated in an other fashion, I give you, Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

The 3P’s are Planning, Practice, and Performance. I might add, Performance incorporated with enhancement techniques that I will cover within my future speeches and writings. For now, I am the little boy on stage at Booker, T. that is facing his public speaking f.e.a.r. Yet he now knows that fear is nothing more than a word that deserves to be masticated.
Find definition at Dictionary dotcom.

Always, in closing, my motto is..."The Possibilities are Endless!" Bottom-line: Choose to Be Positive versus Negative. It's a CHOICE, People. ~With Love, Andre (aka eResumes4Vips)

For feedback, comments, opinions, and general contribution toward this e-zine, please go to Visitors-Tell-Your-Story-Blog-Page and scroll to the page bottom to comment. All feedback is Greatly Appreciated!

eResumes4Vips intends to be fully compliant with the CAN SPAM Act. Both of my Privacy Policy and Website Disclaimer Statement policies are posted for your review.