Is speaking in public your fear?
Does speaking in public or in front of huge crowd scare you? If yes, then this write up may prove to be a good read. This article is no step by step guide to beat this apprehension, though you will surely find several articles on the web that act as a guide. I attribute the reason for writing this article simply to my fear of public speaking. Yes, I had it in me too and it was not until recently that I managed to conquer this fear. So, this article is in fact, a piece from my personal experience and the attempt is to share some pointers I adopted to overcome this fear and that can help some others like me.
You’ll have to trust me entirely when I say that surprisingly, but truly (at least that’s what my experience says), the best way to overcome this fear is to jump right at it. That’s the only way it worked for me. For me, the starting point was to accept that I am not the only one attacked by this phobia. There are innumerable others like me in this world, and I was closely surrounded by quite a few too. Knowing that you’re not alone helps. I decided that I can’t be living with this fear all my life, and believe me; this gave me the strong push that I rightly needed to overcome the fear. It’s very important to be decisive, be it any decision, from immaterial to the most significant.
It was during my college days, considering my good command over the English language, that I was offered a chance to compere the annual event of my college. You may think that this is just a small event, but to reach higher, you need to start from the ground. For me, to speak in even front of a crowd of 100 to 300 odd people was a terrifying sight, and at this event, there would be around 1000 people, so you can just imagine my state. But, I gathered all my courage and decided to do it, not thinking about would be the end result. I rehearsed day in and day out, by starting to first speak in front of 25 people, and then moved onto 50. It boosted my confidence. No doubt, I faltered, people laughed, but that’s a part of the learning process. So don’t worry about the mistakes you’ll make or the end result, just remember that it’s essential you put in all efforts from your side and give it your 100 %. I did just that. On the day of the event, I was highly confident, yet slightly nervous, but I knew I had to do it. Also, because a lot of people were relying on me to do it well. I went out there, and guess what? I started speaking and all my fear vanished. The thunder of the claps made me realize that I had done it, and indeed done it very well. Everyone was happy with my work and it made me feel great. It was this small instance that changed things and I successfully overcame one of my greatest fears. Today whether I speak in front of a huge crowd or a small bunch of people, it doesn’t scare me anymore. So you too can overcome your fear of speaking in public. All you need to do is, go do it.
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