Thank you so much to Steve Rohr for allowing me to review his new book, Scared Speechless. You can win your own copy and learn how to deal with your fear of public speaking.
We all have something that terrifies us. Something that makes our heart race, panic set in, and no amount of anti-perspirant can help. For me, it’s public speaking. I hate it with every fiber of my being. The thought of getting up in front of a crowd makes me cringe and when the anxiety sets in, it’s not pretty.
When I went to school, we didn’t do much public speaking. I don’t ever really remember a time when I had to get up in front of the class and give a presentation. Today, my kids do it all the time. They have to share their work in front of the class. They are required to give Toastmasters speeches. They have many opportunities to speak in front of adults. Even in college, the only public presentations I had to give were for critiques of my design projects. I didn’t have to present as much as I just had to answer questions.
Questions I’m good with. I’ve been part of several panels at many different conferences where I had to “speak” about blogging or social media. I actually really enjoy that… I’m comfortable answering questions on topics that I know really well. It’s the actual “standing-up-in-front-of-a-room-full-of-strangers-alone” that gets me every time. That’s why I don’t do it. Ever.
So… my problem, however, is that I’m kind of at the point in my career where the next logical step for me is to get up in front of a room full of strangers alone and speak to them. Strangers. Alone. Cue the panic attack.
When I saw that Steve Rohr and Dr. Shirley Impellizzeri had written a book called “Scared Speechless” I almost fell out of my chair. I needed to read this… and the fact was I had met Steve at the ENMN Conference last year and thought he was the most dynamic speaker I had ever seen. He was flawless… told the most amazing story… and really captivated the audience. If he wrote this book… I wanted to read it! So I did what you do in situations like this… I emailed him.
I knew I would love the book even before I picked it up… and it did not disappoint. It was clear I needed help and everything I needed to know was in here. Now, books like this can get rather tedious, but this book reads as if Steven and Dr. Shirley were actually speaking right to you. Simple steps to take, ways to practice, practical advice, and all with a sense of humor.
Turns out there is actual biological evidence that being scared is your body’s way of keeping you safe. Who knew? The book breaks down the WHY you get freaked out and the WHAT you need to do to overcome the fear. These are things that are totally doable and actually make sense.
Some of my favorite shares:
- Tell a personal story: Your audience wants to connect on a personal level with you.
- The audience wants you to succeed: They are rooting for you to do well.
- Writing Out Loud: Don’t write your speech and then practice it. Write AND practice at the same time.
The authors also give you a fabulous list of speeches you can look up online and analyze for yourself. Love that part! Watching other people give great speeches turns out to be extremely helpful for me.
And if you are still scared speechless like I am… you are in luck. I have a copy to give away to one of my readers. This is an easy one… all you need to do is tell me your biggest fear.
Giveaway open to United States residents only. Book will be shipped via Media Mail from Santa Clarita, California.
This sounds fantastic! Public speaking is a tough fear to overcome, but tips like these are so helpful! Thanks so much for putting this out there!