Conquer your fear of public speaking and stage fright. Overcome panic and anxiety and stay focused. Stop the stomach churning nausea, develop unshakable confidence and build a great reputation as a natural performer.

Public speaking… the business leader’s greatest fear and the actor’s greatest nightmare

If you have ever had to stand on the podium to give the keynote speech or address the television cameras as the public face of your company, you will appreciate that your performance can be make or break.

It is not just your personal reputation that is at stake, it is the reputation and the future success of your business that is on the line.

If you have ever been gripped by fear and blind panic, then rest assured, you are not alone.

A staggering 70 to 80% of business leaders fear public speaking and/or television interviews.

Similarly, in the theatre world, a significant number of famous and successful actors face a nightly battle with their stage fright and inner demons.

It creates unrelenting tension that ratchets up your anxiety levels every time you think about having to stand there and perform.

At times you feel one step away from blind panic and the urge to run away can be overwhelming. “What if my mind goes blank?” ”What if I look stupid – maybe they know more than I do” “What if I bore them rigid?”

The racing thoughts and questions add to your anxiety and create an escalating sense of fear.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present…”

Presentation...

The word itself sends shivers down your spine. It is enough to bring you out in a cold sweat, to make your hands go clammy and set your heart thumping.

It ties your stomach in knots and makes your head spin. It leaves you exposed and afraid and the anxiety that it causes sends cascading ripples of disruption into other aspects of your life.

Presentation hell

“Don’t mess it up … don’t mess it up”.

You say it to yourself as you sit at your desk in the days and weeks before the “main event”. You go through your material time and time again. You know the words, you have the cues. It’s all ready to go. But you are not.

“I’m going to mess it up”. You hear yourself say it time and time again; at your desk, or at home at the dinner table, you say the same thing.

When you lie in bed at night not sleeping, it’s still there, the same thoughts nagging, gnawing away at your self confidence, filling you with fear.

You can feel yourself getting more and more short tempered with those around you. You feel powerless and unable to cope – Everything suffers; your relationships, sex life and family life, all take second place until the “nightmare” of “it” is out of the way. But what can you do?

Stage fright

Perform … perform … perform …

It has taken on a life all of its own – it has become a monster, waiting to trip you up and swallow you whole.

In your mind’s eye you see the presentation - you feel the pressure of the watchful eyes, the looks, the frowns of disapproval, waiting, watching, listening, judging…. And it feels unbearable.

How many times have you rehearsed your lines, gone through the spiel?

How many times have you both listened to and practiced the “how to give awesome presentations ...” DVD/CD? You listened hard, took it all on board, tried it all out, and practiced it as much as you could.

Will they notice how nervous I am? Will I give the game away - what if I slip up? Can they see that I’m shaking? Is my job on the line? What about my reputation? Endless questions that pile on the pressure, the stress and the agony.

Every time you feel sick inside, every time it is the same. Somehow you manage to get through it, somehow you survive. It doesn’t get any easier; it’s never less than an ordeal. And the bit that you can’t understand - why does it not get any easier? Why is it always so hard?

In fact, why is it getting harder every time?

You’ve done the courses - you know the “how to”, but still it does not come easily. You know where to stand, how to project, how to command. You know all that stuff … but still it does not come naturally. It is nothing less than a personal struggle, a conflict within. A battle played out on a very public stage.

Fight, flight, freeze

Fear of public presentation is an exaggerated from of your natural evolutionary alarm system. Known as “fight or flight”, it has evolved to protect you from predators and aggressors.

This most basic of human responses is crucial for your survival. As a short term measure and in small doses it heightens your responses and sharpens your senses. It gives you the “adrenaline rush” that is often needed for your sense of exhilaration and excitement and it often provides the motivation to succeed and at times it gives you your “edge”.

When expectations are very high and there is so much at stake, the fear of failure and the ensuing consequences create an ongoing threat that overloads this primitive system. Neither running away nor fighting the audience is a viable option and therefore the natural alarm system remains on a high state of alert, without respite.

“I’m in the firing line…”; “they’re going to tear me apart…and eat me alive…”

These thoughts and fears put you in the state of alert that it as threatening as any physical danger. As far as your brain is concerned, it treats emotional and psychological threats in the same way as it treats physical danger.

The longer the threat remains, the more it feeds into a feedback loop that ratchets up the stress even further. Sometimes the effects are physical; shaking, nausea and excessive sweating.

Other times you panic; your mind goes blank and you cannot get the words out. In extreme circumstances, your system will resort to its ultimate safety mechanism and you will faint.

You may wonder; why in spite of all the presentation courses, media training and preparations that you have undertaken, you still feel that facing the public is never less than an ordeal?

You are already successful and you know your business inside out.

You might even have a creative team to provide your material for you.

So why is it, that in spite of all your skills, preparations and backup, you can never get beyond fear?

The secret of great performance is not taught in skill based courses

Replace panic with cool efficiency. Own the room and deliver an unforgettable performance. Find out how by visiting ourconsulting website, orcontact ustoday to book your consultation.

Change your life today … Live, don’t just survive

At The Naked Gene Juggler, we know the science behind great performance.

We will share with you the secrets that enable you to own the stage you walk upon. Deliver unforgettable performances with maximum confidence and minimum anxiety.

Turn your toughest critics into your greatest fans.

Take the opportunity to be the director of your own life

Ready to make a change?

To find out more and book your initial constulation, visit our consultancy sitetoday.