Public speaking has long been called one of the most powerful forms of communication. Mastering the art of public speaking can help you achieve many professional goals. Whether you work for a company or have your own business, when you learn how to speak properly in front of an audience, you can get ahead and quickly impress a room full of people.

For those who are entrepreneurs, public speaking holds an even greater benefit: allowing you to get new prospects, new clients and customers — often immediately following a presentation. But what can you do if you feel that fear of public speaking so many people face? What can you do if you’d rather do anything but stand up in front of a room?

If you would rather be in the audience than in front of the audience because you feel nervous in front of a crowd, you’re not alone. In fact fear of speaking, known as communication apprehension or public speaking anxiety has long been studied by researchers. As far back as 1971, The Bruskin Report called public speaking the number one fear of most Americans.

How do your feelings of anxiety manifest themselves? Here is a list of the most popular physical manifestations of the anxiety some people feel around getting up in front of an audience:

• dry mouth
• heart racing
• shaking knees, hands, or voice
• breaking out in red patches on your face, neck and chest
• hands sweating
• racing thoughts
• too much movement
• adding filler or useless words and sounds
• more?

What it is that is life-changing about this fear? It’s understand that this anxiety is completely normal and natural, at least to a certain extent.

What about knowing the fear of public speaking is normal can be life-changing? It helps to change your perspective.

When you realize something you are feeling is normal and natural you can then learn how to deal with it and get past it. As a professional speaker, I have been getting up in front of audiences since age seven. Even I, with all my 30-plus years’ experience, background, and training feel some of those same physical “symptoms” (my mouth gets dry and my hands will shake) whenever I am delivering a new speech for the first time.

Where does it come from? Put simply it’s your body’s normal fight or flight response kicking in. Your brain knows this is something out of the ordinary and your body reacts.

Realize those symptoms are a form of energy. Take that energy and re-direct it to your audience. Use that energy to create excitement and enthusiasm for your topic and presentation. Be ready for it. I always keep a glass of water with me on stage so if my lips start to stick to my teeth from the dry mouth, I take a sip. And it’s fine.

But whatever you do, find a way to get past that fear of public speaking and get out there and do it. The more you have the opportunity to speak to audiences, the more confident you will feel about public speaking.

Public speaking is one of the most effective ways to market a small business. I invite you to discover how to create your own talk and the 5 easy steps you can take today to get started with this powerful marketing tool. Pick up a FREE recording where you’ll get all the secrets of marketing your business with a speech. Go now to http://www.SignatureSpeechSecrets.com

Felicia J. Slattery, M.A., M.Ad.Ed. is a communication consultant, speaker & coach specializing in training small and home-based business owners effective communication and public speaking skills so they can see more cash flow now.

Last 5 posts by Felicia Slattery

• Top 7 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Marketing a Business with Public Speaking - May 11th, 2009
• How Not to Give Away Too Much During Your Pro-Bono "Signature Speech" - May 11th, 2009
• 6 Tips for What to Do When You Have a Few Minutes to Speak About Your Business - May 11th, 2009
• So You Wanna Use a Speech to Market Your Business in the Virtual World? - May 11th, 2009

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