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7 Public Speaking Survival Tips

Public Speaking – You Can Do It!

I used to be terrified of public speaking – now it’s natural and fun.

Dry mouth, fast heart, sweaty palms, blank mind – yeah I’ve been there! It’s easy to fear public speaking. But I was never just content with overcoming fear. I wanted to be a great speaker. What I needed was a way of calming down and applying simple techniques and strategies to talk like a pro.

When I’d learned to relax (more of that later) I learned and applied the following four steps.

  1. Reassure your audience – they need to know you know your stuff and you are human!
  2. Hook them by being interesting and relevant. Tell them why what you are saying is relevant to them.
  3. Inspire them by giving them information and ways of seeing that are new and applicable.
  4. Leave them on a high by telling a story them encapsulates your central message.

How do you become confident enough to apply the four steps?

Here’s some tips some of which are practical some of which are to do with the way you think about your public presentations and also how you can start to change the way you feel about them.

Tip One

Breath your way to calm. When you breath out you relax that’s why people sigh when they’re stressed.

Breathing in without breathing out causes hyperventilation and worsens anxiety. Just before your speech take five minutes breathing in to the count of seven and out to the count of eleven (quick count-not seconds!). On the out breath hold it a second before breathing in again. This will produce quick and lasting calm. Remember extending the out breath calms you down.

Tip Two

You have a responsibility as the presenter but relax you don’t carry all the responsibility. Presenting is a team effort. Audiences are responsible for politeness, extending their attention and attempting to learn. It’s not all you-it’s a meeting of two halves. Never mind how they judge you. How do you judge them?

Tip Three

Use metaphor and stories. We all experience life metaphorically. The most technical logical person spends at least two hours a night dreaming! Talk detail if necessary but present patterns with metaphors. Folk from 4 to 104 love stories. Use em.

Tip four

Captivate attention by using words that evoke all the senses. Describe how things look, sound, feel, smell and taste. Paint pictures and sensations in their minds with your words.

Tip Five

Vary your voice tonality and speed of delivery. Keep them alert and engaged. Convey energy when need be and slow down when you need to ‘draw them in close.’ You are the conductor to their orchestra. And pepper your talk with humour. Your willingness to be funny shows personal confidence and confidence is contagious.

Tip Six

Tell them what they are going to get. What they are currently getting and then what they have got from you. Sell your sizzle!

Tip Seven

Watch and learn from other great speakers until compelling, relaxed speaking is a part of you.

Rehearse positively. You need to rehearse how your going to feel as well as what you are going to present. Don’t think about your forthcoming presentation whilst feeling nervous as this creates an instinctive association between fear and presenting. This natural negative self-hypnosis is very common with nervous speakers.

Hypnotically rehearse your speech whilst feeling relaxed. This produces the right ‘blueprint’ in your mind. In fact when you do this enough times it actually becomes hard to be nervous!

All great speakers know how to use great self-hypnotic rehearsal. Hypnosis changes attitudes and can bring emotion under control. I used hypnosis, to change my instincts around public speaking. Now I just can’t get nervous whether it’s 50 or 500 people. The world needs great communicators. Go for it!

Cure your fear of public speaking at HypnosisDownloads.com

Article by Mark Tyrrell of Hypnosis Downloads.com.

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Cultivating Inner Strength: Building Self-Confidence With Mindfulness

Introduction:

In a fast-paced world filled with distractions and self-doubt, finding inner confidence can be challenging. However, by incorporating mindfulness into our daily lives, we can develop a strong sense of self-assurance and navigate life’s ups and downs with grace and resilience. In this blog post, we will explore the powerful connection between mindfulness and self-confidence, and how the practice of mindfulness can help us cultivate a deep sense of inner strength. For instance, by taking the time to practice mindfulness meditation, we can become more aware of our thoughts and feelings and develop the ability to let go of negative self-talk and recognize our true potential.

Section 1: Understanding Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the art of being fully present in the moment, paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgment. By observing our experiences with curiosity and kindness, we can cultivate a heightened state of awareness and develop a stronger connection with our inner selves. For instance, by practicing mindful breathing, we can become aware of our physical sensations, such as our heartbeat and breathing, and focus on the present moment without letting our mind wander.

Section 2: Learning to Love Yourself and Your Inner Dialogue!

One of the main obstacles to self-confidence is the constant chatter of our inner dialogue, filled with self-criticism and doubt. Through mindfulness, we can learn to observe these thoughts without getting caught up in them. By creating space and distance from our negative self-talk, we can begin to challenge and reframe our beliefs, nurturing a more positive and empowering inner dialogue.

Section 3: Noticing the Present Moment

Often, our lack of self-confidence arises from dwelling on past failures or worrying about future uncertainties. Mindfulness brings us back to the present moment, anchoring our attention to what is happening right now. By noticing the sensations in our body, the sounds around us, and the beauty of our surroundings, we shift our focus away from self-doubt and embrace the richness of the present moment.

As Roy T. Bennett once wrote:

“The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; the past is a place of learning, not a place of living.”

Section 4: Cultivating Awareness Through Meditation

Meditation is a powerful tool for enhancing mindfulness and building self-confidence. By dedicating a few minutes each day to meditation practice, we learn to observe our thoughts and emotions with detachment. This practice helps us develop a deep sense of self-awareness and acceptance, allowing us to let go of self-limiting beliefs and embrace our true potential. Meditation is like taking a journey within ourselves, unlocking the doors of our inner wisdom and allowing us to uncover our true identity.

Section 5: The Flow State and Self-Confidence

When we are fully present and engaged in an activity, we enter a state of flow. Flow is characterized by a complete immersion in the task at hand, where time seems to stand still, and our actions feel effortless. By practicing mindfulness, we can access the flow state more frequently, boosting our confidence as we experience moments of mastery and accomplishment. This can also lead to a sense of clarity, focus, and purpose, as we find ourselves more connected to the present moment and our true potential. It can also help us to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, as we feel calmer and more resilient.

Conclusion:

Incorporating mindfulness into our lives is a transformative journey towards building self-confidence. By quieting our inner dialogue, noticing the present moment, and cultivating awareness through meditation, we open ourselves up to a world of inner strength and resilience.

According to Sharon Salzberg, a meditation teacher,

“Mindfulness, also called wise attention, helps us see what we’re adding to our experiences, not only during meditation sessions but also elsewhere.”

With consistent practice and patience, we can tap into our true potential, embracing life with confidence and grace.

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Reassuring Reasons why Hypnosis is your Friend

Believe the hype or think for yourself

 

For too long hypnosis has had a bad or ‘difficult’ press. If a person doesn’t understand something they have 3 options open to them.

1) They might be sceptical and therefore save the trouble of looking further and possibly benefiting.
2) They may conclude it is dangerous and to be avoided at all costs.
3) They may spend time discovering the truth behind the hype.

If you don’t know much about a topic it’s easy to be suspicious. Some people assume hypnosis is akin to a carnival side show, others consider it mystic mumbo jumbo or ‘mind control.’ For those who look beyond the hype the truth is far more illuminating.

The most powerful tool you possess

There are potentially huge benefits for those who use hypnosis as part of everyday life. When you understand hypnosis you start to see its potential to improve human performance in the physical, emotional and intellectual realms. For me, rumour, gossip and suspicion weren’t good enough.

I determined to learn all I could about hypnosis – I learned every fact and practised every technique under the sun. I took several training courses – some good, some terrible. I invested thousands of hours of devoted study to hypnosis and discovered just what is possible. I hypnotised friends, neighbours and work colleagues. Hypnosis greatly changed things for me on a personal level

How hypnosis helped me

I used to be shy. Thanks to hypnosis I can now talk to thousands at a time and can approach anybody calmly and confidently.

I used to have poor concentration and procrastinate; thanks to hypnosis I can instantly motivate myself.

I used to find physical work outs and exercise exhausting but because of hypnosis I am now in the best shape of my life.

Incidentally I also stopped myself blushing with hypnosis. Now if ever I have a difficult call or conversation coming up, something I may naturally feel reluctant to do (you know the kind of thing) I spontaneously self hypnotise and rehearse the upcoming situation feeling good, with myself remaining calm. In this way I habitually set my own emotional ‘blue prints’ for up coming situations. Having said that it’s naturally that some people have concerns or half digested ‘hand me down’ ideas regarding hypnosis. A common one is the one about ‘mind control.’ However what does this really mean?

Why you are more in control of yourself in hypnosis

If someone expresses concerns about being ‘controlled’ in hypnosis what they mean is they don’t want to be like a robot, an automaton that is forced to obey the every whim of the hypnotist. We can’t help but influence others but we don’t control them. To understand why you need to understand hypnosis better.

So what is hypnosis like?

Hypnosis isn’t like a coma. It’s not unconsciousness – more a subtle shifting of consciousness. In hypnosis, you can still think logically but you also have access to the ‘software’ of your mind so that you can update instinctive emotional and physical responses. In fact the hypnotised subject (not the hypnotist) calls the shots. When I hypnotise someone I need to go at their speed and respond to their needs and expectations. Hypnosis will give you more control in your own life because of what it enables you to do.

How can I be so sure?

Because over the decades I’ve seen all kinds of people, all ages and from all backgrounds turn their lives around thanks to hypnosis. When you use hypnosis for yourself it improves confidence in all kinds of ways. When you use it to change other’s lives it just blows you away. This is what I mean.

When I first hypnotised someone to feel no sensation in a painful arthritic arm it was an incredible feeling. When I first cured life long phobias quickly and comfortably I was astounded. When I stopped hardened alcoholics from drinking and even got a heroin addict off the stuff and back into mainstream life again I started to feel angry that people could just associate hypnosis with entertainment.

With the aid of hypnosis I (and many people I have trained and worked with) have helped severely depressed people feel strong and positive again. The rewards and satisfactions are hard to describe. I’m going to take a stand against ignorance and short sightedness around hypnosis and here’s why.

Why you need to reclaim hypnosis for yourself

Hypnosis is your birthright. It’s nature’s optimum learning tool. In fact to learn and perform anything well you need to experience a natural focussing of attention, a natural kind of hypnosis. To be successful hypnosis needs to be your companion and friend.

Successful people use it naturally all the time because hypnosis is natural. It’s the way we learn new responses. Unlike medications its side effects are purely positive – one expectant mother I worked with to feel relaxed during child birth later reported that she was also more relaxed when flying!

Hypnosis is easy to learn and every body can benefit. Hypnosis is a safe environment to ‘try out’ new behaviours and emotional patterns before you experience them for real. So the young man can ask a woman out for a date many times in calm relaxed hypnosis so that by the time he does it for real it feels real and natural and relaxed. Sports people who use hypnosis learn new quicker and more accurately. So hypnosis gives you more control of yourself and your life, it’s natural and gives you instant benefits and it’s a way of ‘trying on’ and establishing new patterns of emotional response and behaviour, Hypnosis enables you to develop yourself as a human being.

HypnosisDownloads.com offer a free course called ‘Learn Hypnosis in 5 Days‘.

Article by Mark Tyrrell of Hypnosis Downloads.com.