When thinking about the fear associated with public speaking, physicist and chemist Marie Curie's observation, \"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less\" offers a way to refocus fear.<\/p>\r\n
If you think about it, the fear of public speaking is simply a recognition of a learning gap, be it a lack of confidence in our knowledge of the material or an inability to effectively communicate our expertise. We don\u2019t look at a bicycle and fear learning how to ride it (maybe getting hurt, but not the process of learning a new skill), so why should we fear developing skills that can improve our careers, our lives, and, perhaps, our world? In an article titled \"Fear of Public Speaking: How Can I Overcome It?,\" Dr. Craig N. Sawchuk provides ten tips for managing performance anxiety or stage fright, which are adapted below:<\/p>\r\n
In an article for Forbes<\/em>, author Carmine Gallo cites the results of a survey of American professionals indicating that 70 percent of those who give presentations agree that presentation skills are critical to their career success. Further, 20 percent of respondents indicated they would do almost anything to avoid giving a presentation, even if it meant losing respect. Given that, developing effective speaking skills is something that can give you a competitive advantage over your peers.<\/p>\r\n You can join a local Toastmasters group, a campus speech and debate team, a speakers bureau, or seek out opportunities to speak in front of others. Also, seeking to understand the sources of your fears related to public speaking will help you harness your public speaking potential.<\/p>\r\n Although emotion doesn\u2019t factor into the definition of persuasion, it is an essential ingredient. Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle identified the three elements of persuasion as ethos (credibility), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion). When Gallo analyzed human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson\u2019s \"We Need to Talk About Injustice<\/a>\" talk, voted one of the most \u201cpersuasive\u201d on TED.com, the results were surprising to many: 65% pathos, 25% logos, and 10% ethos. Emotion often drives decision-making and opinion formation.<\/p>\r\nEffective Speaking Strategies<\/h2>\r\n
Using Emotion<\/h3>\r\n