{"id":21868,"date":"2016-01-19T23:54:53","date_gmt":"2016-01-20T05:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crowdspring.wpengine.com\/?p=21868"},"modified":"2022-05-06T18:41:28","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T23:41:28","slug":"five-public-speaking-tips-and-tricks-for-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/five-public-speaking-tips-and-tricks-for-small-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Public Speaking Tips and Tricks for Small Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Conferences, meetups and other public events offer many unique opportunities for entrepreneurs and small business owners to market their business. Yet many people turn down opportunities to speak in public.<\/p>\n

If the thought of speaking in public causes you to panic and sweat profusely, you are not alone. 74% of people fear public speaking<\/a>. In fact, you might be surprised to find out that some of your favorite celebrities and public speakers also have a strong fear of public speaking.<\/p>\n

I understand how daunting it can be to speak in front of a large audience; public speaking is one of my biggest fears. But I know that to succeed, I will need to be comfortable speaking in front of large groups, so I try to find ways to cope with my fear and learn from those who don\u2019t fear public speaking.<\/p>\n

After a little over two decades of putting subjects through the Trier Social Stress Test<\/a> and other studies, researchers have concluded that any form of public speaking triggers a release of the stress hormone cortisol<\/a>. Cortisol is released because we intuitively fear judgement, and public social settings are a definitive place where judgement will happen. This means that everyone, whether they feel it or not, experiences some sort of anxiety before and during public speeches or presentations. This is not necessarily bad – some level of stress<\/a> is good:<\/p>\n

How can people shift into a stress-is-enhancing mindset? Start by recognizing that stress can be useful. \u2018We only stress about what we care about,\u2019 Crum [a psychologist at Stanford University] says. She points out that achieving goals necessarily involves stressful moments. If we know that stress is coming, then we can see it for what it is: part of the process of growth and accomplishment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But of course, there’s a difference between controllable stress and run-away stress. Researchers have found that people who seem to have no fear of public speaking have been able to find ways to control their cortisol levels. In fact, some people don\u2019t release as much cortisol as others, while some people find ways to control their anxiety.<\/p>\n

Researchers have discovered some broad techniques<\/a> that relieve anxiety for many different types of people. When applied to a situation where someone fears public speaking, these techniques can help calm the fear and make the feat seem more plausible. Sure, you can follow the common advice to imagine your audience in their underwear, but that mostly confuses me. Instead, here are five of my favorite tips (they work for me!) on calming the anxiety to make public speaking a little easier:<\/p>\n

1. Step away.<\/h2>\n

Right before a public speaking event, sometimes the worst<\/span> thing to do is to reread notes or practice the presentation. The constant practice can trigger even more anxious thoughts, and aggravate the fear. Before I have a public speaking event, I like to step away and take some time to clear my head and center my thinking. My favorite ways to do this are to listen to acoustic covers of songs that I know well, or practice yoga. Other people like to meditate or get massages, but I personally find that without a specific focus, my thoughts wander back to public speaking far too easily, once again inducing the fear. Instead, I change my focus and am able to forget about my fear.<\/p>\n

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