In Public Speaking, “Focus” Is The Opposite of “Phobia”

When it comes to public speaking, FOCUS is "key" in more than one sense of the word.

FOCUS ON THE "IS", NOT THE "MIGHT BE".
Many people are so fearful about what might happen, they are paralyzed from acting right now, says coaching guru Terri Levin.  Let go, knowing it isn’t in your hands to control the future, she says.  All we can deal with is the "right now".

FOCUS ON ONE "LANE".
When giving a talk, it helps to narrow your focus to just a few important ideas.  Doing that lends more impact for your listeners, and helps you keep your place in your talk with just four or five little note cards. Jean Atkinson, who coaches professional speakers, tells them to "pick one lane" and focus their expertise.

FOCUS ON "THEM".
From dealing with hundreds of clients, as well as with professional speakers and trainers, we’ve come to realize fear symptoms might not ever totally disappear for some people.  But we teach frightened speakers to focus on their audience.  It is they, the listeners, who need to hear your message.  It is they who need explanations.  They need to learn the "how" and "why" of your subject.  They need to celebrate a wedding, a retirement, or an anniversary.  They need your help to recognize and celebrate the life of someone’s who’s just died.  Focus on what they need from you!

FOCUS YOUR EYES.
"Strong, direct eye focus connects you to your audience, inspires trust, and helps keep you in control", says the Total Communication website, adding that strong eye focus helps control stage fright. When you go from a speech to a series of one-on-one conversations, the situation is much less frightening for the speaker.
 
On the SpeakAssured team, our focus is on overcoming speaking phobia and restoring self-confidence to the many people who have messages others need to hear.  On of the important ingredients in our all-natural speaker’s product SpeakAssured™, GABA, was described in Jack Challem’s book "The Food-Mood Solution" as follows:  "Gaba helps filter out background noise in the brain."

In public speaking, we’ve found, FOCUS is the opposite of PHOBIA!