The 3 Fears Of Making Presentations

In this fast paced knowledge economy, whether you are a business owner, employee, sales person, student or even a homemaker, success in your chosen field depends heavily on how you are received. How you are received depends on how you communicate or present. Based on how you present an idea, people may or may not buy something from you, may or may not learn something from you, may or may not give you high grades or worse may or may not choose to do business with you!

The ability to get a message across clearly and convincingly can win business, enhance reputations and help people become more successful generally. Top business people rank presentation skills among the most important. Teachers in various educational institutions also observed that top achievers have excellent presentation skills. Making presentations is increasingly becoming more important in the workplace and schools. Increased competition has made the ability to influence diverse audiences positively a critical success factor in an individual's work and life in general.

Lets look at the 3 fears many people have in making presentations

1. Nervousness

This is in fact the top fear that many people face when making presentations. People tell me that even with just the thought of making presentations gives them butterflies in their stomach. But you know what? Even the most seasoned presenters, entertainers, orators get nervous. There are legendary stories of entertainment superstars who undergo extraordinary episodes of stage fright right before they perform. They experience blurred vision, nausea, and headaches - even after performing hundreds of times. So, if these entertainers face anxiety on stage, is it any wonder that the rest of us may be fearful of appearing before groups?

You would think I am nuts, but being nervous is good! Why? Because when you are nervous, your body produces various chemicals such as adrenaline which would heighten your senses, make you more alert and drive more blood to your brain, so that you can actually think and react better. Harness the energy of nervousness and you are on your way to making a great presentation. Oh yes, one more tip. Never, never, never say you are nervous or acknowledge your fear in any way to your audience or even to yourself. That puts up an immediate barrier with the audience and will deflate any confidence you have gathered

2. Audience Phobia

Many people fear that they will be scrutinized and judged upon once they are in front of the stage or group. This is totally untrue! You got to realize the audience is simply human, as you are. They are there to hear what you have to say and have no agenda that says you are not good enough. In most cases they are there, in the room, hall or venue because they want to be. Learn to relax, smile and connect with the audience. Once that is done, they will love you to bits! How to do it? Read on!

3. Feeling incompetent & Inadequate

Do you feel incompetent and even inadequate after making what you deemed to be a poor presentation? Many of my friends and colleagues feel this way. Even I felt this way during my initial years of presentation. But my friend, presentation is a skill. Being lousy at a skill doesn't reflect how good or how bad you are as a person. It also doesn't mean you are incompetent in your job or at the things you do. It just means that you need to improve on those skills and this is what we are about to learn in the later chapters.