End Speaking Fear--For Good

In this newsletter, I'm going to explain how you can overcome your fear of public speaking once and for all. Learning to speak confidently can help you get promotions, better jobs, and more respect from your coworkers. At The Impromptu Speakers Academy, we've seen how mastering this skill can change lives. Unfortunately, most advice about public speaking doesn't really work.

Why Most Public Speaking Tips Fail

Most tips about public speaking don't work because they only focus on how you look on the outside. They don't fix what's happening inside your brain. Here's why common advice falls short:

• "Just be confident" - This doesn't tell you HOW to feel confident
• "Smile more" - Forcing a smile when you're nervous feels fake
• "Stand up straight" - Better posture doesn't calm your racing heart
• "Speak slowly" - Hard to do when your mind is racing with fear

But don't worry! I'm going to show you how to actually transform your fear into excitement with two powerful techniques that work together.

Here's how, step by step:

Step 1: Use a Pattern Interruption

When fear hits, you need to interrupt your thinking pattern quickly. This is important because it stops your brain from spinning out of control with worry.

For example, some people count backward from 7 to 1. Others (like me) recite lyrics from their favorite song while bobbing their head to the beat. Find a private spot before your presentation and try this. One client of mine taps her fingers in a specific pattern. The key is finding something that completely shifts your focus for a few seconds.

Step 2: Create a Grounding Visual

Many people try to calm down by just telling themselves "don't be nervous," but this actually makes things worse. Instead, close your eyes and create a clear mental picture of success.

Imagine exactly what your audience will say and do after your successful presentation. See their smiles, hear their exact words of praise, feel the handshakes or high-fives. Make it super detailed - not just "they liked it" but exactly HOW they show they liked it. The more details you add, the more your brain will believe it's possible.

Step 3: Prepare with the Know-Feel-Do Framework

The path to confident speaking starts with knowing exactly what you want to achieve. Write down three simple statements:

1. "I want my audience to KNOW _____ after my presentation."
2. "I want my audience to FEEL _____ after my presentation."
3. "I want my audience to DO _____ after my presentation."

Being crystal clear about these outcomes helps you focus on your audience instead of your nerves. When you're focused on serving your listeners rather than worrying about yourself, your fear transforms into excitement about helping others.

How to Put It All Together

Remember that fear and excitement feel exactly the same in your body - racing heart, sweaty palms, and butterflies in your stomach. The only difference is what your brain tells you these feelings mean. With these techniques, you're teaching your brain to interpret these sensations as excitement instead of fear.

First, create your grounding visual and know-feel-do statements well before your presentation. Then, right before you speak, use your pattern interruption technique followed immediately by focusing on your grounding visual. This combination is powerful because it clears your mind and then fills it with positive expectations.

I've used these exact techniques before speaking to crowds of 300+ people, and they work every time. The key is practice - don't try these for the first time five minutes before a big presentation!

Remember, you don't overcome speaking fear by pretending it's not there. You transform it by changing what your brain focuses on!

If you want to overcome speaking fear, make sure to join the ISA Alumni event happening Wednesday, April 23rd, at 4pm Pacific Time.

In this group session, you'll learn how to adapt this mindset (and many others) to any speaking scenario.

Until next week,

Preston

Preston Chin

Find me on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, or Book a 1:1 Call​