There are plenty of remedies for the fear of public speaking that are available right now in your home. They are simple to use, not dangerous and can have a significant impact on your public speaking confidence.

The first is fruit and vegetables that contain plenty of Vitamin B. The Vitamin B Group has been shown to help reduce anxieties, so eating bananas or potatoes is good. Fresh fruit and veg every day will help make you less stressed out when asked to speak in public.

Equally, so will plenty of water. Few people drink enough water - you need around eight glasses a day on top of any other drinks. And if you drink coffee, you'll need even more because coffee stimulates the loss of water from your body. Many people are actually mildly dehydrated and that means you could become anxious. People who drink lots of water each day tend to have less anxiety than others who do not drink so much.

Finally, eat pasta. Fresh pasta contains loads of carbohydrates which helps boost your energy but also helps change the chemical balance in your body producing more brain hormones that make you feel relaxed. Regular doses of carbohydrate can reduce your anxieties and therefore help you feel more able to speak in public without fear.

Labels: remedies

People who are frightened of public speaking sometimes try to reduce their nerves by having a drink. A quick gin and tonic can't hurt much, they think and they also assume it will steady their nerves making them feel relaxed. But this "Dutch Courage" can actually have the reverse effect - plus if you have a drink that is too big, the audience will notice and not respect you.

However, there are drinks that will help you reduce your nervousness. Herbal and fruit teas are helpful, such as camomile. So too is plain water - often minor amounts of dehydration can reduce your effectiveness making you more nervous.

Any drink containing caffeine, such as tea or coffee, will not help. They will actually make your nervousness more pronounced, so they should be avoided for a full 24 hours before any talk. If you are a heavy drinker of caffeine products you should stop drinking them 7-10 days before your talk so that you do not suffer from withdrawal symptoms.

Labels: cures, remedies

Are there any remedies for public speaking fears? That's a question I often get asked. It seems that people would like to pop a pill, or take a medicine that miraculously gets rid of fear. There is no such thing. Sometimes, actors and musicians are prescribed "beta-blockers" - drugs that affect the cardiovascular system - for severe cases of stage fright. However, when they stop taking the tablets, the symptoms reappear. So these remedies do not attack the main cause of fear. The best remedy you can find is to discover the real, deep seated cause of your fear of public speaking. When you have discovered that you can then deal with rectifying it. I find with the people that I deal with that the main cause of fear is rooted in childhood, being told by parents and teachers to "keep quiet". This tends to make you feel you shouldn't talk out loud; so when you are asked to speak in public it goes against everything you learned as a child. Dealing with this can be time consuming, but largely it is attitude change that is the only thing that is needed. If that isn't easy for you, sometimes you may find that cognitive behavioural therapy is helpful.

Labels: causes, fear, remedies

Having worked with thousands of people trying to overcome their fear of public speaking, one of the most common questions I'm asked is are there any cures for public speaking nerves. People seem to want to find a pill that will just get rid of the nerves completely, once and for all. But there is no magic bill that will rid you of your fears. However, that doesn't mean your fear of public speaking cannot be cured. Indeed, I'm convinced that everyone who suffers from nervousness when speaking in public, or glossophobia as it is called by psychologists, can be treated and that their fears can be eradicated. There are two steps needed to achieve this. The first one is a change in attitude (which is covered in detail in the first part of How to Abolish Your Fear of Public Speaking). The second step is to deal with any personal issues or unresolved matters which are causing the fear in the first place. Once these steps have been taken, practical matters such as preparing the presentation or speech so that it flows well and is easy to remember, can help. But a change in attitude accompanied by some work on personal issues cures people every time.

Labels: cures, remedies

I often get asked if there are any remedies for public speaking fears. What kind of pills or medications are available? What herbs or foods can help reduce the fear of public speaking? However, such questions are really clutching at straws. Yes, certain foods and drinks can make you feel more relaxed. True, there is some evidence that aromatherapy with lavender oil, for instance, can help you feel better. But they don't get rid of the fear completely. Herbs, foods, and alternative therapies may help, but in my experience they have limited impact. The thing that has the most impact (explained in detail in How to Abolish Your Fear of Public Speaking) is physical activity, which is one of the natural remedies for public speaking fears. All you need to do is get plenty of physical activity prior to your speech and make sure you move around a lot during the speech. Podiums, fixed microphones, standing next to computers to click the slides on - these are all things which will make you more nervous, not less, because they reduce physical activity. Thousands of people who have followed my programme for abolishing the fear of public speaking report that the single most important natural remedy they followed was physical activity.

Labels: fear, remedies