Managing Public Speaking Anxiety

Brad Liebe, the owner of KK&B Financial Services, helps clients identify their financial goals and obtain various retirement products. He provides financial information through one-on-one consultations and group seminars. Skilled in public speaking, Brad Liebe presented motivational seminars with Rick Olson Seminars for several years.

Regardless of how skilled you are at public speaking, there will always be situations that make you feel nervous. Fortunately, this anxiety is manageable.

One way to manage public speaking anxiety is by being well-prepared for your speech. If you can, choose a topic that interests you, or present the topic in a way that excites you. By being enthusiastic, you’ll interest your audience in your speech.

Another way to manage anxiety is by changing the way you think about public speaking. Don’t expect perfection from yourself, and recognize that everyone makes mistakes. Focusing on mistakes magnifies your imperfections in your mind and makes you even more nervous about exposing them to an audience. 

In addition, you should not equate public speaking with your self-worth. Public speaking is only a small part of your life and has little or no impact on the way others see you in other aspects of your life.

Finally, prepare a dialogue instead of a monologue. Dialogues are better for speeches because they engage the audience and grant you opportunities for small breaks. These breaks can give you a chance to take a drink of water, take a deep breath, or get your anxiety under control before you continue.

The Difference between Immediate and Deferred Annuities

The owner of KK&B Financial Services for Seniors, Brad Liebe provides financial consulting and estate planning services to clients through seminars and private consultations. Licensed in California, Wisconsin, and Florida, Brad Liebe also offers various financial and retirement products to clients, including annuities.

An insurance product, an annuity is a contract between an individual and an insurance company. Two main types of annuities are available to choose from: immediate and deferred. Both types can provide a continuous stream of payments, and both allow for unlimited contributions. However, they function in distinct ways.

With an immediate annuity, individuals pay their insurance company a large amount of cash upfront. This lump sum is immediately converted to an income stream, and the individuals start receiving monthly payments in one to 12 months. These payments stop when the individual who set up the annuity dies.

Deferred annuities, on the other hand, can be set up with either a lump sum or in several payment plans. Unlike immediate annuities, deferred annuities do not begin paying out shortly after being set up. Individuals defer payout to a future date.

Deferred annuities are best for people who have maxed out their contributions to tax-advantaged accounts, such as a 401(k). Heirs may also benefit from a deferred annuity since the plans pay a death benefit of the amount remaining.

Estate Planning Then and Now

With close to a decade of experience in the field of financial services, seasoned businessman Brad Liebe established KK&B Financial Services for Seniors, where he also serves as president. In this capacity, Brad Liebe provides financial consulting and estate planning for seniors.

Twenty years ago, the individual federal estate tax exemption was at $600,000 and the estate tax rate was at 55 percent. Couples could opt to combine their trusts and, in turn, enjoy twice the federal estate tax exemption - that is, $1.2 million. By simply owning a home, some investments, and life insurance, one could accumulate an estate. Also, over the last two decades, passing assets to heirs did not require the intervention of the probate court, which happens when the deceased family member leaves a last will and testament. Instead, the revocable living trust has been preferred, a document referred to as a probate-avoidance tool.

Fast forward twenty years to the present time - the individual federal estate tax exemption is now $5.43 million. Couples can still choose to double the exemption for a total of $10.68 million. Plus, the estate tax rate dropped to 40 percent. Probate-avoidance tools such as payable-on-death bank accounts may also be established.

Because of these current trends, estate planners tend to focus on more relevant concerns. One is the increase in the income tax rate from 35 percent to 43.4 percent, which tends to negate the drop in the estate tax rate from 55 percent to 40 percent. Also, the long-term capital gains tax rate increased to 23.8 percent from 15 percent. Because of these changes, estate planners are looking for new ways to minimize income taxes as part of their estate planning strategies.