Whenever you see someone offering INSTANT tips and tricks for overcoming the fear of public speaking, please do me a favor. Be vigilant. Extend your B.S. antenna and jab it squarely into the chest of the messenger.

It’s non-sense. There is no magic pill that you can catapult down the hatch and in an instant be cured. There are methods that work, methods that don’t, and then there’s time and experience.

You need methods that work, but you also need opportunities to implement them during live situations. And lastly, you need time. There’s no shortcut except how fast you want to move.

We all want instant gratification. It sells for sure—probably always will. But, avoid being deceived when it comes to personal development such as overcoming fear. Habits don’t form overnight, nor did the fear of public speaking, so it's not going to instantly disappear.

I’m not saying you can’t throw yourself into a scary situation and come out on top, because there are plenty of thrill-seekers and risk-takers that would beg to differ. What I’m talking about is to truly be in control of yourself when fear starts beating on you.

This is how it works when something gets over-hyped or over-promised:

You now have an expectation. So, you jump right into a speaking experience (which I encourage!) thinking it’s going to be just a tad easier than putting on your pants, and then suddenly you feel the fear smash against you like a 30 foot wave. Your survival instincts take over and now you're frozen like a Popsicle.

You’ve now been mentally scarred. The last thing you will want to do is try that again. I don’t blame you.

Imagine instead that you go into that same experience knowing exactly what is going to happen to your body, and then respecting it. If it comes, you were already prepared for the onslaught of nervous sensations. From there, since you’ve experienced what it’s like, you can begin the process of dismantling it. If the fear doesn’t hit you with rhinoceros force, then you are loving it even more! Your thought process will instead be “That wasn’t so bad.” A much better perspective, don't you think? What Do You Need Then? 1. You need to know why fear comes Knowing why will help demystify your fear. When you understand why it occurs, it takes fear’s power away. The best way I've heard it described, whether true or not, is that it's our prehistoric caveman instincts that are hardwired into our brains. Back in the days of cavemen, it was dangerous to be alone. If you were ousted from your tribe, you'd be in a deadly situation because of hungry predators. It was much easier to fend off would-be attackers if you traveled in a group. Wolves are a perfect example of this. They use teamwork in order to get dinner. Now, imagine you were dinner. Catch my drift?

2. You need to know what to expect in terms of negative thoughts, physical sensations, self-doubt, etc. We're all affected a little differently when fear arrives to our party. The physical symptoms such as your heart beating the bongos, sweating, shaking, blushing, crying, losing your job, urinating on the walls and yourself (it's possible!), and surely others.​ Then there's the stuff that goes on inside your head. It ain't pretty. Things like self-doubt where you think of all the scenarios where you completely fail. You may ask yourself many questions as well. "Who would want to listen to me?" or "Am I really qualified to be speaking to an audience, what do I know?" Just knowing they'll attack you gives you a unique power over them rather than the other way around. Your brain does not like uncertainty... 3. You need to know what techniques work and how and when to implement them It's all about building your system for calming and controlling your nerves. I believe everyone should have their own custom system. I remember trying many techniques that absolutely did not work for me. Some did. Others I tweaked to fit my "system." Your system should work like a checklist. Maybe your system/checklist starts about a week in advance, perhaps right when you're just minutes from having to speak. What about both? Things like visualization, meditation, taking a peek at your "why" for motivation, "logic reinforcers," and what I call "anchors" (things to keep your emotions grounded). A system for when you're just moments away from having to speak could SHOULD be taking deep breaths, saying "yes" to your physical sensations (acknowledging that they are there to help you), doing physical exercises like clinching your fists or stretching your calves, and many more possible techniques (I go in-depth on various methods in my book). The point is to try them and find the ones that work for you. Methods That Actually Speed Up The Process: - Get opportunities to speak