 The
"Me" Syndrome
Has it ever happened to you?
 Yes! 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. |
