Painfree Public Speaking

This audio-cassette seeks to help people overcome by nerves before they give an important speech, i.e. all stammerers! It is as well to remember, however, that fluent speakers have similar feelings of fear before a critical presentation, the only difference being in the degree of the reaction.

While there is no specific reference to stammering on this tape, the admonitions contained therein can only be of good common sense value. Gems of insight - slowing down the rate of breathing, relaxing facial muscles, feigning a winning smile - are interspersed with more interesting psychological tips.

The tape speaks of the voice inside us which gives negative messages. "We look for approval from our audience but if we don't see any then our inner critic begins to impose its hostile attitude onto the passive faces of our audience." Stammers, being especially vulnerable to this form of 'fortune-telling', anticipating or guessing our listeners' response to our blocks, could well take heed of the tape's advice: "Reason with your inner critic: you won't please everyone but it is not often that they (the audience) want to tear the speaker limb from limb." The tape tells us that "once you're clear about the ideas then the words will look after themselves". This, of course, is the opposite of what many stammerers feel, and this tape is best taken as general advice about speaking in public.

Reviewed by Gabriel Hershman, in the Spring 1997 issue of 'Speaking Out'.

back to library entry to list of reviews