[dcutaia]

Hello,

I have a problem of freezing up when I have to communicate with a group. I have tried different appoaches but am uncomfortable with it. What should I do?

Thanks,

DAC

[aduckart]

Hello,

I have a problem of freezing up when I have to communicate with a group. I have tried different appoaches but am uncomfortable with it. What should I do?

Thanks,

DAC

Freezing up in front of a group is not uncommon... in fact people you see every day in front of a group of people still freeze... but because of practice they can look past that.

For some people speaking in a real large group is easier than a smaller group (10 people or less). To help reasure yourself, you could truly look people in the eyes... that relaxes both you and whomever you are speaking to. You could also try your speaking skills on a subject you know everything about. It could be you are more or less uncomfortable because the subject isn't as well known.

For some, looking right above people's heads help. That way you don't have to look directly at them.

I'm not sure what your environment is, but if you are uncomfortable standing in front of a group, you could possibly reposition the participants in a circle, so you aren't directly the focus of attention.

Really, practice helps... you just need to not give up on speaking in front of a group. You may never get over "freezing up," but you just may improve your outterself by looking more relaxed or not fidgeting.

Good luck to you! It's a tough one, but you'll manage. :)

[manimuth]

Do you freeze up talking to a small group just socially or do you mean when you have to present something in a professional environment? Either way, like aduckart said, practice.
I used to feel like you did when I was much younger but I would practice conversations in my head! Yes, it does sound weird but it helped. I would come up with responses to questions someone might ask me and practice saying it so that when it came up, I didn't have to think... just talk. This helped because the reason why I froze up was from thinking too much about what to say.
Today, I am a completely different person... I actually enjoy public speaking!
If your problem is serious enough to be debilitating, I would suggest more professional help. Good luck.

[marksorin]

Because it stresses one of the key points of successfully talking to groups, that is to know almost everyhting on that topic.