Overcoming fear - talking.

SS has been selling life insurance for seven years and yet still find difficult to master the art of selling. On several occasions I had seen her talking to prospects and presenting her sales. One of the drawback I noticed was her fear in expressing herself. To have a friendly chat she sounded normal but on actual presentation and sharing of ideas to prospects, she lacked her personal confidence to deliver.

On a recent article I read something on public speaking, I learned the subject of fear. Fear is an unpleasant feeling of perceived risk or danger, real or not. It functions to make us alert and ready for action should we encounter problems. Depending on the manner in which you handle your apprehension, fear can either stir you to action or immobilise you. Interesting...isn't it??

Ok! Let me go further to explain... Basically, there are two types of fear - empowering fear and disempowering fear. Empowering fear may include the fear of developing lung cancer through smoking. This would inhibit you from picking up the bad habit or impel you to kick your addiction. An empowering fear may also be termed as a "healthy" fear.

Of interest here is disempowering fear that can incapacitate aspects of how you function if you do not overcome your fear. How would you respond when you are to give an impromptu presentation to your prospects. More so when there are many people around. In the office, there might be several staffs working, in a restaurant there bound to have many other customers and in a prospect's home, you are surrounded by his family.

The truth is SS was not fearful of speaking to her prospects. Instead she was more apprehensive about the unfavourable scenarios that she had built in her mind. Meaning.. the surrounding disturbed her thought. If she was not confident and not focus, most likely she might loose the prospects' attention. Without she realising, her presentations were not convincing and inspiring to the listeners. No prospects or clients would buy if their doubts are there!

Suggestion to SS and to those who sell. Whenever you talk to another person who is listening, treat that particular person as very important to you at that moment of time. Forget the surrounding by blinding your thought but concentrate and focus only to the one who is listening. With some training, you would learn "to see but yet you don't see". Meaning...there might be hundred of people around your listener, you are not bother with the surrounding. Once you reach that level, you would be able to talk in confidence and conquering your fears and venturing out of your comfort zone.

I believe - "A good talker who speaks well is better than a dumb handsome or beautiful person".