Overcoming Nerves - Improve Your Public Speaking Presentation and Influence Skills Training Coaching Melbourne Australia

18May

Nervous Speaker? Where Does your Focus Naturally Go?

So you're a nervous speaker: where does your focus naturally go?

Updated 2019 Today's video post is around a link to some interesting research on where your eyes and attention go if you're an anxious presenter. This is assuming you're able to look up and 'take in' your audience - and if you're nervous, that's not a given! (I put myself in that category: my eyes used to dart around the room when I was afraid of speaking. Eye contact was way too difficult!) Nervous Speaker - Where Does your Focus Naturally Go? So if you're a nervous speaker, where does...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, Delivery, Mindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Bloganxious public speaking, British Psychological Society Research Digest, Cognition and Emotion, eye contact public speaking, focus nervous speaker, Muyu Lin, negative audience, nervous speaker2 CommentsRead more...

13Apr

Reduce Stress with these Simple Quick Techniques

I'm always on the lookout for techniques to help clients reduce stress and anxiety levels. And I've been talking to a lot of my private clients recently about how going through stress in their lives can make their public speaking anxiety worse - which makes total sense. Reduce Stress with Simple Quick Techniques In fact for a few clients, stress was the trigger which set off their speaking anxiety in the first place. One had been fine about speaking in public until his mother died, when he just stopped coping with the pressure. For me too: my...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills BlogBill Rielly, breathing, controlling public speaking anxiety, Essentialism, Greg McKeown, performance anxiety, public speaking anxiety, stress and anxiety levels0 CommentsRead more...

31Mar

How To Get Into A Strong, Energetic State Before A Presentation

How to Get into a Strong, Energetic State Before a Presentation

How do you come across to others when you present? And how do other people judge our energy levels? You might think this is an obvious question, but I bet there will be things you're missing - we can't always tell what's really going on, and even less so how we come across to other people, because we have so many mind filters in place and miss or delete information as we process it. So today's exercise is a way for you to find out personally how other people see...

By Sarah DenholmBody Language, Delivery, Mindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Bloganxious speaker, nervous energy, nervous speaker, speaking energy triggers, speaking with energy and conviction, strong state as speaker3 CommentsRead more...

12Jan

Where’s your Locus of Control around Public Speaking?

Where's your locus of control around public speaking?

Control: where do you sit with that word when you think about public speaking? My clients often struggle with feeling out of control in different ways when they’re presenting - either mentally, physically or both. When your sense of control goes, so does your confidence. Loss of control = loss of power, and powerlessness = stress. Your brain actually loses prefrontal function when you feel out of control (that's the higher thinking part). But so long as you have the perception of some control, you get to keep your cognitive functions: in other...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogcontrol and public speaking, controlling public speaking anxiety, feeling out of control when public speaking, locus of control in public speaking, public speaking anxiety, public speaking skills1 CommentRead more...

06Oct

How to Overcome Public Speaking Fear

Let's talk about fear today. Fear in general - and public speaking fear in particular. What can be done about it? Is it even possible to learn how to overcome public speaking fear? I've been speaking with one of my private coaching clients this week, who's trying to decide whether or not to join my course; and we ended up having a chat about what she calls her "avoidant tendencies". One part of her wants to do the course and face her fear in front of a group, but the other part of her is fighting...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogfear extinction, fear learning, fear of public speaking, frightening bad public speaking experiences, Michael Davis, Michael Fanselow, public speaking avoidance, public speaking coach, public speaking fear exposure0 CommentsRead more...

03Mar

Three Thinking Traps That Increase Public Speaking Fear

[updated February 2024] I've heard from hundreds of clients about their fearful thoughts on public speaking - and listened to my own in the days when I used to get very nervous. And I've noticed that there are some styles which just keep popping up! Here are three thinking traps that increase public speaking fear: Thinking Traps That Increase Public Speaking Fear "I must know more than everyone else in the room" This thought is a recipe for enormous stress and sleepless nights. It's also something you can't control! (See my post the drive for certainty or

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsalnegative thoughts public speaking, negative voice while presenting, public speaking fear, solutions for public speaking fear0 CommentsRead more...

08Jan

Three Ways to Succeed With Your Public Speaking Goals This Year

Have you made a New Year's resolution to finally succeed with your public speaking goals?

Have you decided, finally, to overcome your fear of public speaking, or become a better presenter? I assume that you're interested in the topic, or you wouldn't be reading this article! But have you come up with anything specific to work on? Or are you in for another year of avoidance, despite your best intentions? We usually have a sense of clearing out, of optimism and openness to new desires and goals as each new year rolls around. But we're not so good at making them stick....

By Sarah Denholmbusiness meetings, Mindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog0 CommentsRead more...

23Sep

Public Speaking Fear: Four Stage Process To Handle It

Today I'm doing a video post about my four stage process to finally get unstuck and handle your public speaking fear. These mindset shifts and actions will help you to deal with any fear and anxiety. The video goes for just over 6 minutes. Hope you find it useful!

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog0 CommentsRead more...

20Aug

Helpful Self-Talk Language Shift For Nervous Speakers

[Updated July 2020]. I often chat to clients about their self-talk around public speaking. Using helpful self-talk language before you present will make a difference to how confident and in control you feel. And research from 2015 is showing that, believe it or not, talking to yourself using your own name or the second or third person can help! It can also work when you're reflecting on the event after it's happened. This seems to work because it puts some distance between you and the emotional, stressful experience you're going through. And when you...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nervespractising public speaking skills, presentation anxiety, public speaking self-talk0 CommentsRead more...

16Jul

Vocal Presence – Using your Voice to Own the Space

Vocal Presence - Using your Voice to Own the Space

Creating vocal presence Our delivery style is crucial to getting a message across effectively to our audience, and one of the key factors in delivery is using our voice to create power, warmth and persuasiveness. Our voice gives our audience clear messages about our confidence, energy and vitality. When we contract and mentally “turn away” from the audience, our voice follows; we swallow our words, mumble and rush, or become monotonous or ‘lifeless’ in our tone. Of course, one thing which will always affect vocal presence is how much we trust...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, Body Language, business meetings, Delivery, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog0 CommentsRead more...