My Biggest Fear is Speaking!

We are all struck with fear when we speak, well let me just say most. Few gifted individuals have the gift of gab without the fear - how dare they. For the most part, however, the rest of us are "um'ing and awe'ing" our way through it. I'm reading a book I just have to tell you about. The author is Marcia Yudkin. She has a host of marketing information if you love diving into the subject like I do. On the flip side, she also talks about speaking and writing and a lot more.

Her book is "Smart Speaking". I learned a new speaking strategy that at first seemed kind of weird. It's called "Plosive Polishing"...What? Apparently, plosives are a group of eight sounds in English that make an explosive sound when pronounced. They are:

1. b ex: cab
2. p ex: tip
3. d ex: lead
4. t ex: light
5. k ex: back
6. g ex: big
7. ch ex: church
8. j ex: judge

Her book is really easy to read. If you are like me and you would rather pull your hair out strand by strand than to speak sometimes, read "Smart Speaking: 60-second strategies" it really works. The exercises are easy and fun. The only other thing I would recommend is to get rid of the audience...just kidding.

If you just spend a few minutes a day reading aloud, sounding out plosive sounds, and practicing when its time to speak, the jitters do seem to subside. Finally, facing your fears head-on (which is what I did) will finally keep your fears on a leash.

What do you do to relax before speaking?