Presentation Skills NavigationThe "Me" Syndrome

Has it ever happened to you?

PanicYes! I have it sometimes too, and so do a lot of other people who suddenly find themselves being forced into the lime light so to speak. Facing a group of unknown people with the task of presenting a report or a presentation of some type, will or I should say we typically will experience and/or go immediately into an assortment of stages of stage fright or experience an anxiety attack at the mere mention of public speaking.

This condition can range anywhere from just having a very mild case of the jitters and being a little nervous about speaking or it may even effect them to a point where they are rendered completely speechless and unable to say a word and may even pass out cold!

Why? Because we become nervous and that is considered a normal behavioral trait that we humans all have. We usually exhibit these types of symptoms plus a few more when we are suddenly taken outside of our own comfort zone. What is our comfort zone? It's our own little space in this big wide world around us, we call our own. It's where we are in direct control of everything around us that affects our comfort zones which makes us feel safe and secure, and as long as we are in control of it, we feel safe.

However, when we are forced outside of our comfort box for some reason, we immediately begin looking for ways to return to the relative safety and comfort of our own little world.

So when you are asked to speak to a group of people, for most individuals this usually becomes the event that threatens them the most, because it forces or takes them out of the relative safety of their comfort zone. And as a result the first things most do is start visualizing the worst and being verbalizing to themselves, saying things like " Why me, No way, I don't know what to say or I would rather die first than speak before a group of people." Or I am just going to embarrass myself, because I do not have a clue where to start or what to say, these are just a few of the many excuses we will use to retreat with if possible back to our own little space we call our comfort zone.

All of us have experienced these very same feeling, and made similar excuses at times in the hopes it would keep us from doing something we didn't want to do or we felt uncomfortable about doing. What we are really saying to ourselves is that we lack self-confidence in ourselves.

Oh sure,  we've all seen those individuals, who could stand up and speak to a big or small group of people, making it appear as if it was no big deal. They projected themselves like it was an effortless effort on their part, remaining cool, calm, and collected during the whole process.

I can tell you that did not happen overnight, somewhere along the way they learned how to present themselves using proven presentation methods. They learned how to be a presenter, either through a similar training program or from the "old school of hard knocks of trial and error." I think most would agree also that each of those speakers, instructors, or teachers we listened to displayed a great deal of self-confidence in themselves as they spoke.

From here I recommend you read the course objectives and then begin following the links to start learning more about developing your presentation skills.


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