As a reformed shy person I can relate to your issues and share some mindset changes that can help you.
I use to be so shy that I couldn't get in front of a group of 3 people and speak my mind easily. This even occasionally included trouble expressing ideas in front of family. I now know I suffer from Bi-Polar which helps cause a ton of social anxiety issues. In short you feel like eyes are on you and judging your every move.
For me, getting past this took some time. Even when started my first business it was one that allowed me to deal with 1 customer at a time and not have any meetings or speaking engagements to deal with. I was in my teens before I could speak in front of any group that wasn't either family or church related.
I began developing a mindset by the time I was old enough to run for a local elected office that speaking was a job, not an option. I learned in a group to pick 1-2 familiar faces out in a room and speak to those people shutting out the thoughts of all others in the room. I also stopped trying to rehearse a script because the more I worried about forgetting what I planned to say the more convinced I was I couldn't do this.
I threw out the script and opted instead for a list of notes or highlights I wanted to make sure and cover and began speaking from the heart and through personal experience. I can now speak in front of any size group, have been on State Wide Television, have co-hosted webinars and can run a lean and mean Skype group.
The rules to doing it are simple:
1. Find someone to talk to in the crowd and talk to them.
2. Be yourself, don't rehearse and try to be a pitch maker, be you.
3. Consider this one more task you must do in a day and don't let ideas of skipping it get in your head.
4. Remember you are not alone. Statistically 83% of the people you are talking to are at least as nervous as you are speaking to a crowd and we are all human.
5. Relax, and have that conversation with a friend not that testimony at your criminal trial.
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As a reformed shy person I can relate to your issues and share some mindset changes that can help you.
I use to be so shy that I couldn't get in front of a group of 3 people and speak my mind easily. This even occasionally included trouble expressing ideas in front of family. I now know I suffer from Bi-Polar which helps cause a ton of social anxiety issues. In short you feel like eyes are on you and judging your every move.
For me, getting past this took some time. Even when
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