The Chimera of GLOSSOPHOBIA
“There was this sudden feeling of being pulled by a grotesque arm the moment I was asked to walk onto the stage to address people. All I could feel was my frost-bitten body and alienated brain as I have yanked the signals of my senses so hard that the only sound I identified was the numbness of my limbs. Cheers and applauds emanated blood-curdling roar as I stood still to be decapitated by zillions disguised as tiny group of spectators. Irony of that plight was a blasphemer turned into god-fearing body, murmuring then chanting for all the mythical gods to come to her rescue but received no hand as this moment was conspired a millennia ago by the almighty itself for her conduct of blasphemy and sins on her conscience.
Okay, no more blasphemy! I felt a shard of glass making its way through my arm as my fast friend shook my forearm to hand me a mic. Out of nowhere I discovered a hatred side of me to her as if we were at the enmity since our existence. Her mellifluous voice was no longer soothing to my ears rather my senses mistook it for a monstrous voice which I always resisted in my worst nightmares”. The whole and intact narration above is the excerpt from the hindsight of my heart-dangling experience of public speaking.
If you feel empathetic, I could hear the heartbeat saying yes! I have visited this spot not just once but numerous time. Keep reading! If you close this tab right away you would not witness the realisation of the moment that will hold you taut and you would be able to figure out nothing but my only these utterance on this page whenever you address a large gathering next time. You will bugged by the glossophobia itself for rest of life.
HYMNS to overcome GLOSSOPHOBIA
Here I take you there… Above mentioned incident dragged me far from my figment of imagination so I eventually decided to collide and smash this oozing fear of public speaking. This 7 years of invincible battle with myself that took me through realisation of the 7 hymns to deal with and win against this 7 seas encroaching flame of being booed in the public speaking. HYMNS are:
1. “There is nothing like no-fear-gear zone in public speaking”.
So, accept that you will be haunted with this fear/ anxiety throughout your journey of public speaking in this life or the other. (Unless you are a robot or zombie! Just chill, I have got to be kidding since sarcasm in my blood is sprouting out. Let’s keep the path to next hymn of public speaking.
2. “Don’t flee away by the shore rather row against the tide”
While on the stage, be an artist, take the liberty of filling the blank canvas with the colours you want. As a wise and trusted counsellor of mine, Mr. Rocky says: “IMPROVISE, ADAPT AND OVERCOME to become the speaker of your dream.”
3. PABLO PICASSO said, “learn the rule so well that you can tweak on it.”
And I tweaked on his words and withdrew something for you in the form of this hymn of public speaking. So I say: “I am one out of those 7 sages who first decoded and narrated the Vedas and only one is present in this arena so whatever I tell here is untouched, intact piece of speech and the only truth” This feeling of superiority during public speaking almost always helped me keep my head held high and content.
4. “I believe in my content of delivery, so does my audience”
Till the time you are confident about your side of story, trust me, your pouring energy on the stage will always make your audience awe-inspired.
5. “I am gonna allow my persona speak where listeners down there waiting for my elocution with the hopeful set of eyes”
And I emerge like the Queen of 7 kingdoms (from Game of Thrones) when I walk out from the podium-glue and use the magic wand of non-verbal communication to pull my listeners close and hallucinate.
6. “Rewind and remind yourself these three states of public speaking”
> A. I am going to speak what I feel, unless I am planning to hurl abuses at my audience.
> B. I am going to greet my followers with the piece of an intangible art in the form of my speech today.
> C. I am going to enjoy whatever I do or asked to perform on the stage as this is the only way to appear and sound natural to others.
7. “Shed away the monotony and momentary fear, making the use of two-way talk”
Yes, this is my favourite hymn since I often find speakers forgetting the dominance of binging conversation over monologue. Common sign is when only you speak at a stretch you words sound outlandish and your listeners feel the burden of abiding by the time with you. So next time when you stand before them try loosing your burden too by initiating talk based speech.
That is not it… it is just an inception of your journey of public speaking and I can see the dawn of this preach sprouting across the 7 seas and in the cosmos!
Happy Learning!
Written by:-
Khushi Singh
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://peptalkindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/IMG_0801-Copy.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]COO, Pep Talk India, Head Trainer, Writer, Ideator [/author_info] [/author]
Vocabulary
Chimera – fire-breathing monster or nightmare
Blood-curdling – causing or expressing terror or horror
Murmuring – a low or indistinct continuous sound
Decapitate – cut off someone’s head
Mellifluous – pleasingly smooth to hear
Heart-dangling – horrifying
Blasphemy – disrespect for God or scared things
Outlandish – looking or sounding bizarre or unfamiliar
