Flip the Fear of Public Speaking: Peter George

Channel the fear of public speaking into positive energy Competence breeds confidence Episode 135 (Peter is based in Rhode Island) In this conversation with Peter George we explore: How to channel the fear of public speaking as positive energy What's the real fears that create anxiety How to control the energy to boost your performance Why it's critical to realize that perfection is not the goal How changing your focus to the audience makes it easier for you Harness the power of visualizing your positive outcome About Peter George: Throughout his childhood, Peter dealt with a lisp and a stutter. Consequently, he grew up shy and introverted, avoiding communication with others. For the past 17 years, he has been coaching professionals to be calm, confident and credible when they speak. He is the host of the Public Speaking with Peter George podcast. He is the author of The Captivating Public Speaker, Engage, Impact and Inspire Your Audience Every Time. Learn more about Peter George and find free resources at... https://petergeorgepublicspeaking.com/ ----- Excerpts from this conversation with Peter George:   03:55 I imagine not everyone needs to go through the therapy with Cruella and tears every every Tuesday morning. When you work with people, and you help them address the fear of public speaking, where do you start?   04:17 First of all, I don't believe there is such a thing. And I say that sort of tongue in cheek, but if we look at why we get nervous about speaking, it's adrenaline. Our adrenaline's flowing. So George, let's say you and I are going to an amusement park and you love roller coasters. And this amusement park has a brand new roller coaster. It does all these flips and you're hanging from the top and everything else. And I'm looking at the line and looking at the roller coaster go on. I don't think so. You and I are probably feeling the same thing. You're getting an adrenaline rush and that's what you consider it this is going to be great Oh, my heart's beating, My blood pressure's up, I'm getting sweaty, I'm so excited to get on this roller coaster, I'm going to be standing there going, this is the last thing in the world, I want to do my heart's racing, My blood pressure's going up and getting all sweaty. It's adrenaline. Now how we label it might be different. And that's just one aspect of it. But a lot of us are afraid of public speaking, if you will. Because we don't want to make fools out ourselves. We don't want to be embarrassed. And I certainly get that. Or we, we know that we're not sufficiently prepared, or we don't know how to prepare. So all these things make us nervous as they should, if you don't know how to do something, and then you have to go do it in front of other people. It would be me going to Yankee Stadium, having never faced a 90 mile an hour fastball before 50,000 people in the stands, and I'm at home plate. What are the odds, I'm going to hit this ball, slim to none. And I know that. So I would be nervous up there that I'm going to make a fool out of myself. This might be making it very light. But that's really what it comes down to. And the idea that public speaking is the greatest fear known to humanity. I don't agree with that either. If you look at studies, it's well behind spiders, snakes, even clowns. So I'm one who's petrified of clowns, by the way. ----- 16:37 Hmm, and maybe a good mantra to to keep in mind when when people are speaking to heck with them. You don't like it The heck with you. And Peter, I'm also wondering, I noticed when you you started telling us those two stories about your family, but about first about your your dad to firefighter, and then your your great grandma. Might that be a technique that a person can use when they're delivering a speech or a presentation by bringing in a personal or a family story? Because they'll that will automatically make them feel good, because they're talking about something that they care about. ----- ----more---- Your host is George Torok George is a specialist in executive communication skills. That includes conversation and presentation. He’s fascinated by way we communicate and influence behaviors. He delivers training and coaching programs to help leaders and promising professionals deliver the intended message for greater success.   Connect with George www.SpeechCoachforExecutives.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetorokpresentations/ https://www.youtube.com/user/presentationskills https://www.instagram.com/georgetorok/   For weekly tips to improve your presentations visit https://toroktips.com/