Conversation Topics - Dealing With Stage Fright

These few notes on dealing with "stage fright" may help you when you have to approach a girl or guy in front of a lot of people - Or, if ever there comes a time when you have to respond in front of a group of people (friends, family members, co-workers).

You might not know how you're going to respond to random questions or requests, but if you practice reading out loud and talking to people more often, you will feel more at ease when the time comes.

Take heed to these notes and search the Web for other ideas. But remember: the key being cool, calm, and collected, is constant "practice".

To deal with stage fright:

- know exactly what you're going to talk about beforehand (refer to "basic topics" such as: employment, breaking news, weird people you've met, good restaurants you been to recently, traffic, crime, movies, fashion, recent good/bad customer service experience, etc.)

- PLAN what you're going to talk about (the lead is very important but you don't have to shock people with your first sentence; tell your listeners about a recent experience that helps to illustrate a point; tell your listeners how you are going to help them solve their problems; start off with a "did you know..." question; tell your listener why you're excited to be talking to them;

- have "the eye of tiger" (focus on doing the job not on how you look or what people think of you - if the presentation is presented well, that's where their focus will shift)

- practice by reading the subject matter often or talking about the subject out loud (visualize your audience) - sometimes, practicing in a mirror helps

- also visualize individual faces in the audience and scan the room as you talk - (left, right, and center) and talk directly to them (do this to "keep the room small and friendly"; remember: you're among friends, so relax.)

- speak in layman terms if you're talking to "average folks"; use technical jargon when talking to fellow tekkies.

- be aware of any questions people might ask and cover them in your presentation or be prepared to respond

- read other books and articles that interest you out loud and get used to having a good time and enjoying the spotlight and hearing the sound of your voice

- focus on giving people the information they need and nothing else. block out all other non-essential thoughts

- make notes and refer to them if you need to - this is a good thing. you should never try to remember everything you want to talk about

- if your style is not telling jokes or stories, don't worry about it. let your words and the situation flow. if a story comes to you - fine. if not, that's fine also.

- try to maintain good posture but don't worry so much about it; practice this well in advance and constantly so that you will be natural

- end of notes

- loveqna