{"id":2422,"date":"2018-12-20T00:01:07","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T06:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tkahler.com\/coach\/?p=2422"},"modified":"2021-07-13T16:35:26","modified_gmt":"2021-07-13T21:35:26","slug":"presentation-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tkahler.com\/coach\/2018\/12\/presentation-fear\/","title":{"rendered":"Presentation Fear: Seven Actions to Increase Your Confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know very few people that get excited about presenting. In a recent Prezi survey, 20% of respondents said they would do anything to avoid giving a presentation, including pretending to be sick. Presenting in front of an audience, especially superiors, is one of the most important things we do in our careers. Presentation fear is real. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with it.<\/p>\n

\"Presentation<\/p>\n

Presentation Skills are Important<\/h4>\n

More than ever, presentation skills are essential to a successful career. It seems we live in a PowerPoint society and presenting multiple times a week is part of today’s work reality.  Developing Effective Presentations<\/a> is one thing, delivering them when you are terrified of doing so is another. In the same Prezi survey cited above, 70% of employed Americans who give presentations agree that presentation skills are critical to their professional success. The survey also points out that people are welcoming help. Over 75% of the people who give presentations would like to be better presenters. This is why presentation skills is one of the primary developmental areas I face when coaching clients.<\/p>\n

What Makes us Nervous?<\/h4>\n

According to the Mayo Clinic, fear of public speaking, also known as performance anxiety or stage fright, is a common form of anxiety that can range from slight nervousness to paralyzing fear and panic. A Gallup poll a few years ago found that about 40 percent of adults in the US suffer from some degree of stage fright. About seven percent of people suffer from a debilitating condition called Social Anxiety Disorder.<\/p>\n

What makes us so nervous presenting in front of other people? After all, they are just people like us. The popular medical site WebMD puts it very simply that “stress and anxiety about performing in front of people causes performance anxiety.”<\/p>\n

Seven Actions to Increase Your Presentation Confidence<\/h4>\n

Controlling our nerves by dealing with our stress and anxiety will result in a positive impact to our brand and our image in the workplace. The following are some tips that I have used to reduce my fear of presenting.<\/p>\n