The Fear-Less Public Speaking Blog
You will find articles here, mainly about public speaking nerves. These articles feature many of my clients and their stories about dealing with public speaking anxiety.
If you are interested in a course or one-on-one coaching, see what others say for direct testimonials.
The Fear-less Public Speaking Blog Turns 5! – A comprehensive guide to what is in it and what you may have missed.
I started the Fear-less blog 5 years old and have written more than 50 articles. I aim to write one a month – sometimes I wonder whether I will run out of ideas for new articles – but it hasn’t happened yet! I get about...
Becoming a more confident speaker takes two things – courage and practice
Today’s blog post has a simple message. Everyone wants to become a more confident presenter. But confidence is not something that just happens. It takes courage and practice to become more confident. Confidence is the number one thing people who fear public speaking want to gain. “I want to...
Public speaking anxiety in the corporate world – and how the stories we tell ourselves can make it worse
I have a client, let’s call him Ben, who has recently started his dream job. He is a strong presenter, passionate about his work, is getting great feedback from his manager, and knows he is the right person for the job. But despite all this,...
Three stages of anxiety applied to public speaking – how you can intervene at each stage to stop the panic.
I am always looking for new ways to help people reframe their anxiety about public speaking, so I was thrilled to come across this TED talk by Lisa Damour – “3 steps of anxiety overload — and how you can take back control”. She explains the...
How to avoid the dreaded public speaking mind blank – and what to do if it happens!
Ever had the experience of going blank in front of an audience? Forgetting what you were going to say and starting to panic? Or had an ‘out of body experience’ where you could hear yourself talking (even waffling)?! You may have felt like a horrified...
Suffering From Public Speaking Anxiety? Here’s What Others Just Like You, Have to Say About their fear.
I have written this article for people who want to do something about their fear of public speaking but need encouragement to take that first step. Many people hesitate because they know that taking a course will require them to do the thing they dread....
Fear of public speaking? Your job could be the problem.
I encourage people to talk about something they know and care about when they do the first speech for one of my courses. It requires little preparation, but more importantly, it eliminates one possible source of anxiety for people – having to talk about something...
How to Survive Giving a Special Occasion Speech (And Even Enjoy It!)
Most courses I run have at least 1 or 2 people attending because they have a wedding speech looming. I also have clients who are still haunted by a ‘disastrous’ wedding speech in the past. For example, someone recently told me that he was nervous...
How a Lack of Confidence Can Stop a Good Public Speaker From Being Great
Skilled speakers exude confidence, right? Not necessarily. Many reasonably good speakers suffer from intense self-doubt, which ruins the experience of speaking for them and holds them back from becoming great speakers. If you are an anxious speaker, you have probably decided you are rubbish at...
If You Are Avoiding Public Speaking You Are Not Alone – But You Are Not Doing Yourself Any Favours.
I run courses for people with public speaking anxiety. In the pre-course questionnaire, 80% of participants say that they avoid public speaking if they possibly can. They turn down opportunities, get ‘sick’ on the day, ask others to step in for them, and even turn...
Six Tips to Help You Get the Most From Your Public Speaking Course
So, you have finally decided to do something about your public speaking anxiety and signed up for a course. Congratulations – you have taken a great first step! As a public speaking coach, I see so many people get amazing results – but not everyone...
Seven things I have learned from seven years of coaching public speaking
I have been coaching young people and adults in public speaking for seven years – initially in a school as a volunteer – and now with adults as a paid coach. When I started, I experienced imposter syndrome. I was a good public speaker and...
Why a ‘Service Mindset’ Will make You a Better Public Speaker – And a Less Nervous One!
Public speaking is a performance, but it is not the same as acting. There are two main differences. The first is fairly obvious – as an actor, you are being someone else, but as a public speaker, ideally you are being yourself. Many people struggle with...
How I Am Using Yoodli — A New AI Tool — To Support My Public Speaking Coaching
Yoodli is an exciting new AI public speaking tool that I am using in my coaching. A lot of my work is with people who have extreme public speaking anxiety that holds them back from achieving their career and life goals.In my experience, there are...
Giving a good presentation is one thing – but having impact is another
Recently someone approach me for private coaching. She was nervous about an upcoming presentation. Before she ran through her presentation, she told me that her topic was important to her audience and she really wanted to have impact. Then she practiced her presentation by sharing...