Chapter 23 The best way to overcome fear

As long as you work hard, you will find that this fear will quickly reduce to an appropriate level, and then it will be a help, not a resistance. Fact #1: Fear of speaking in public is not an isolated phenomenon.A survey from a university pointed out that 80% to 90% of the students in the speech class will feel the fear of going on stage at the beginning of the class.In my adult classes, stage fear was even higher, almost 100 percent, at the beginning of the course. Fact #2: A certain amount of fear is beneficial, and we have an innate ability to cope with challenges from our environment.So when you feel your pulse quicken and your breath quicken, don't panic.This is your body's response to alertness to external stimuli. At this time, it prepares for the upcoming action. If this physical preparation is appropriate, you will think faster and speak more fluently because of it. Often speaks more incisively and forcefully than under ordinary circumstances.

Fact #3: Many professional speakers confess that they never quite get rid of their fear of going on stage.Before almost every speech, I feel dread, and it will continue into the first few sentences.This is the discipline these speakers must go through if they want to be racehorses, not workhorses.Some speakers often claim to be "cold like a cucumber", but in fact they have a thick skin like a cucumber, but they are also refreshing like a cucumber. Fact No. 4: The main reason you are afraid of speaking in public is because you are not used to it.Professor Robinson said in the book "The Breeding of Thought": "Fear is derived from ignorance and uncertainty." For most people, speaking in public is an uncertain factor, so anxiety and fear are inevitable.Especially for novices, facing a series of complex and unfamiliar situations is much more difficult than learning to play tennis or drive a car.Only by practicing, practicing, and practicing, through continuous practice, can the uncertain factors become simple and easy.You will find that speaking in public will not be a pain, but a joy, as long as you have a successful speech experience.

This is the story of the eminent speaker and noted psychologist, Albert Edward Wiggen, and I have always taken it as a source of encouragement.When he was in middle school, he was asked to stand up and give a five-minute speech, and the thought of it terrified him. He described it like this: "When the day of the lecture was coming, I fell ill. As long as I thought of that terrible thing, the blood rushed to my forehead, my cheeks burned, and I had to run to the back of the school and put my face against the cold brick wall. on, trying to fade the rising crimson. "It's still the same in college. Once, I carefully memorized the beginning of a speech. But when I faced the audience, my head thumped, and I almost didn't know where I was. Barely squeezed out the opening line: 'Adams and Jefferson is dead...' Then, being unable to utter another word, he bowed... and returned heavily to his seat amidst thunderous applause. The Headmaster stood up and said: 'Edward, we hear this sad news Shocking, but now we'll do our best to grieve.' Then there was the roar of laughter. I really wanted to die, but it was just a few days of illness.

"The last thing I dare to hope to do in this world is to be a public speaker." But in 1896—a year after he left college—a political movement arose in Denver over the issue of "free silver coinage."He believed that the proposals of "free silver coins" Brian and his disciples had made a mistake, and the promise was empty. He was very angry, so he pawned a watch to make money, and returned to his hometown of Indiana.Then volunteer to give a speech on sound currency.There are many old classmates in the auditorium. "At first," he wrote, "the scene of the 'Adams and Jefferson' lecture at the university flashed through my mind again, and my fear nearly suffocated me, and I stumbled, almost running from the platform. But, As Juanci Depp used to say, the audience and I barely made it through the intro, and then this small success emboldened me to go on for what I thought was about fifteen minutes. Actually I After talking for an hour and a half, I was amazed.

"As a result, in the next few years, I was the most surprised person in the world, who would take public speaking as a profession for myself. "I finally realized what William James meant by 'habits of success'." Albert Edward Wiggle finally realized that the best way to overcome the overwhelming fear of speaking in public was to gain experience. It is natural for you to have a certain amount of fear when speaking in public, but you also have to learn to use the right amount of stage fear to make you a better speaker. There is no need to despair even if the fear of going on stage becomes overwhelming, causing mental blocks, slurred speech, and uncontrollable muscle spasms that seriously affect your ability to speak.These symptoms are very common among beginners. As long as you work harder, you will find that this fear will soon be reduced to an appropriate level. At this time, it is a help, not a resistance.