[ Contents | Search | Reply | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Russ Hicks
Date: 21 Oct 2006
Time: 18:45:00 -0500
Remote Name: 71.123.208.188
Hi Kelly, ..... Thanks for your kind words. They mean a lot to me. ..... You said, "I have always struggled with public speaking. I dreaded the required oral communication/speech class in college. Whenever I am in front of a group of people, my face turns read, my hands sweat, and my heart races." Really? Golly gee whiz, you must be the ONLY person in the entire world who ever felt that way! Ha, ha, ha! Join the crowd! From your description of your own anxieties about public speaking, Toastmasters would be PERFECT for you! ..... Fear of public speaking is THE MOST COMMON FEAR in the world! (The SECOND most common fear is DEATH! As Jerry Seinfeld says, "Then it stands to reason that if you're going to give a eulogy at a funeral in front of an audience, you're in worse shape than the guy in the box!" Ha, ha, ha! I've always loved that quote!) But Toastmasters recognizes that oh-so-common fear and there absolutely IS help available. People who stutter don't have a corner on that fear market! Almost everyone I know was scared to death in Toastmasters at first. But if you survive your first few speeches (and the fatality rate is actually pretty low <grin>), you begin to realize WHAT to do and HOW to do it. And the fear really does begin to melt away. I've seen that magic happen in hundreds - maybe thousands - of cases. Public speaking is a learned art, just like baseball and playing the piano. It really does become easy - and most of all FUN! Try it, you'll like it! See http://www.toastmasters.org Click on "Find a Club" on the left and follow your nose. Then go visit a club or two or three in your area. They/we LOVE to have visitors! ..... And you said, "Strategies like picturing the audience in their underwear has never helped to calm my nerves." Ha, ha, ha! No, that strategy never has worked. You need to picture the audience as FRIENDS of yours who want you to succeed. And Toastmasters will show you how to do to that. And it's not a trick. It's real. ..... Kelly, I can't emphasize enough how strongly I believe in Toastmasters. Try it, you'll like it! ..... You also asked, "How has your anticipatory symptoms and anxiety changed over the years?" When I began public speaking I was - just like you - scared to death. But now I really look forward to any opportunity to get up and speak before an audience. I enjoy the heck out of it! <grin> Toastmasters has worked miracles in my life! ..... I wish you the very best, ..... Russ, my email is russhicks@mail.com