Enjoyable way to get rid of nervousness

Public speaking is one of the most fearsome fears for human beings. If animals, plants, fishes, birds and bugs can speak, perhaps they might get nervous like us too. :P Most of us, when faced with crowds, start to stutter. We might have butterflies in our stomachs and our legs might turn jelly. We might get tongue-tied and the million and one things we could have said elude us. Yet why is this so? Very simply, because we get nervous! It all boils down to fear. I know the greatest fear of all is the fear of fear itself. But hey, even this subset of fear - the fear of public speaking - is a considerable foe already. Yet why do we fear public speaking? Few of us spend a full day without even uttering a single word. And many of us talk a lot. Yes, even conversing with friends counts as talking. Since we talk so much, doesn't it seem strange that public speaking remains one of the greatest fears? My humble take is that underlying this fear of public speaking is a more primal fear - the fear of being embarrassed. It's back to the ego of Man. We are scared of what OTHERS might think of us if we do not perform. We are scared of what OTHERS might think of us if we forget our lines. We are scared of what OTHERS might think of us if we cannot make ourselves understood. We are scared, we are concerned, we are worried... whatever! They are all one and the same. The common denominator is that our ego might be bruised if we fail. Let's assume that we lose the attachment to our ego. Let us no longer be concerned about what others may think of us. Let us just assume that whatever we do, the consequences do not matter. Let us.. JUST DO IT! If you are able to put aside your ego, you will discover that there is actually nothing to be scared of when you stand in front of a 1000-strong crowd and address unfamiliar strangers you have never met. So what if you forget your lines? So what if you say something wrong? So what if people start throwing rotten eggs at you? It doesn't matter! We can say SO WHAT? because we simply do not care anymore! Once we put aside our ego, we are unfettered by any negative preconceived ideas we might have of ourselves. We are free... and we are free to perform! For those who think it is too hard to put aside your egos, I would suggest you take it one bit at a time. Take it slowly but gradually try to achieve what you set out to accomplish - simply standing unconcerned in front of crowds and saying what you started out to say. If you think it sounds hard, it doesn't! You just need practice and perseverance! :-) For those who can't wait, here's a very effective shortcut to get rid of your nervousness: I want you to imagine yourself standing in front of a crowd. Let's take it slow in the beginning and put the number at 30. Imagine that you are standing in front of 30 people right now. If you can imagine better with your eyes closed, go ahead. Now, imagine that this nasty person in front of you is showing you a black face and you are scared out of your wits just looking at him. What I want you to do now is to strip him. Yes you heard it right. STRIP HIM. He is wearing a jacket and tie on top of his long sleeves shirt and pants. I want you to imagine him WITHOUT his jacket. Take it off for him or just imagine it gone. Then, I want you to remove his tie. And then, I want you to unbutton the top of his shirt. And then another button. Heck, just remove his shirt altogether. HECK, take off his pants as well. So right now, he is left in his undies only. It doesn't matter even if he has a body like Brad Pitt's. Just go ahead and give him a potbelly. Stay focused, don't lose the scene. This guy with a big potbelly is now standing in front of you in only his undies. If you want to, remove his hair as well and make him bald. Now look at this guy carefully again. Compare the man in this scene with the previous stern guy. Are you still scared of him? Of course not! He looks more comical than frightening now. This "stripping" process might seem long because you are doing it for the first time. But once you get used to it, you can strip the entire audience in a fraction of a second. ^^ Now answer my question honestly. Is it possible for you to remain scared when speaking to a crowd of naked people looking embarrassed themselves? NO! And so, you have it! - the shortcut to getting rid of your nervousness. The next time you stand in front of a crowd doing your presentation, remember to strip everyone clean. I have to warn you though that you should not strip them too slowly. You don't want to get sexually aroused and you don't want to end up laughing hysterically too. :P Now that wasn't too hard, was it? :-) Note: Check out some myLotters sharing their experience on nervousness and public speaking. Click here.