Most of us have a fear of public speaking. Not only us, but even people who are in top positions also suffer from public speaking. There are a few symptoms of fear of public speaking, like an increase in a heartbeat when you go on stage, shaking of the legs, and a quavering voice Don’t think you alone suffer from this problem.
But with preparation and practice, you can overcome this fear. The person you are seeing today giving a good speech is not the product of one day. They were also like you a few years back, but due to practice, they are able to represent themselves like this.
So you can also overcome this fear. These are the steps that will help you overcome your fear.
1.) Know your topic.
Try to understand your topic in a better way and collect as much information as you can because the more you will know your topic the better you can speak and you will be more confident about your topic if you will have more information related to your topic and there is a less chance you will make mistake or you move out from your topic and by the way you get lost from your topic you will quickly get back to your topic.
2.) Plan your speech.
You should carefully organize and plan your topic. If you are going to say something in front of a crowd, organize it in such a way that you know what you are going to say first and next. You should have an idea of what the things you are going to cover are and in what sequence. If possible, make a small note where you write the subheadings in sequence so that you don’t get off track. If possible, go to the place where you are going to present yourself and see all the available equipment for your presentation.
3.) Practice, practice, and more practice.
You have probably heard the quote that practice makes a man perfect Yes, so practice your presentation as much as you can because the more you practice, the better your presentation will be. Try practicing in front of a few friends who know you. Then ask for feedback and see where you are making mistakes. What you can improve: Then try practicing in front of people you don’t know and ask for feedback.
This is how slowly you will develop your skills and you will develop confidence in public speaking. You can also practice in front of a mirror if you don’t have an audience available. This is also very impactful.
One more thing you can do is record your speech during your practice recording and see where you need improvement and what you can do to make it better. For example, notice your facial expression, your body language, your hand movements, your way of presenting, and many other factors.
4.) visualize your success.
Visualize the best way you can give your presentation. Imagining that your speech will go very well without any problems will help you to remove negative thoughts, which will improve your stage performance and remove anxiety. If you continuously imagine that you are going to give your best presentation, imagine that everyone is clapping and cheering for you. This technique is very helpful in public speaking.
5.) Concentrate on your presentation rather than your audience.
The audience in front of you is there to learn something new from you, so prepare your material and your speech. Your focus should be on how to best present the information to your audience. If your material for the speech is good, the audience will support you if you feel a little nervous as well.
So, try to properly prepare your material, and your focus during the speech should not be on the audience but on the information and material that you will deliver to the audience sitting in front of you.
6.) Don’t fear a moment of silence.
During your speech, there may be a situation arising when you move out of the track, or your mind will black out, or it may seem to you that you were silent for a long period of time, but that’s not true. It may be for just a few seconds, or if it may be for longer, don’t panic in that situation.
Just take a deep breath and try to recall or try to speak other points that you remember. Your audience will wait for you. They are not going anywhere, so keep calm and delegate your speech.
7.) Avoid drinking caffeine before speaking.
Caffeine drinks may increase your heart rate, and cause your hands to shake, and your legs to shake, and you will feel very uncomfortable in that situation.
It may be noticed by your audience, and all your work will go in vain, so it is better to avoid taking caffeine before going on stage to give your presentation. The drinks that include caffeine are coffee, tea, etc. So, please avoid drinking it.
8.) Make eye contact.
When you are practicing in an empty room, imagine that there is an audience in front of you and that you are making eye contact with them while giving your speech. When you begin your speech on the stage, pick some friendly faces and make eye contact with those faces. Give your presentation.
This will engage your audience. You will also feel comfortable while giving your speech. When you feel comfortable, the audience will also take an interest in your speech. Eye contact also brings trust.
9.) Use slow, deliberate speech.
Due to anxiety, you will speak very fast, and you will not feel it, but your audience will very well know that you are speaking very fast. You will try to finish the presentation as soon as possible, but hold on. Ask yourself why.
You are giving a presentation to impart some knowledge to your audience. Why don’t you hurry up? Speak slowly and clearly to your audience as you are teaching them. This will have a very positive impact on your audience, and you will also feel very good after giving your presentation.
10) Take deep breaths and drink water.
Breathing helps to deliver more oxygen to your brain, and oxygen is very necessary for the proper functioning of the brain, so don’t forget to take a deep breath before going for the presentation and during giving your presentation.
Also, try to take deep breaths in between. Don’t forget to drink water because water also supplies a good amount of oxygen to your brain, and if you forget something during your speech, you can take a sip of water, and during that time, you can recall that thing you have forgotten.
11.) Smile
A smile is an effective way to reduce your nervousness. When you smile during your speech, you will feel more confident and your audience will also feel connected and open to you. So, whenever you go for a presentation, keep a smile on your face.
12.) Pick a topic that interests you.
When you choose a topic that you are passionate about, it becomes easier to speak and grab the attention of the audience. If you choose a topic that you are passionate about, it becomes easier and more fun to explain to others.
So choose a topic in which you have an interest and write about that topic.
You can choose a topic like:
- It has affected your life, or in other words, your life lessons.
- It can be a topic you want to share with others.
- You feel that the topic is important and that others will benefit from it. They will learn something that will benefit them.
So, if you choose this type of topic, you will share it with your open heart and you will enjoy sharing it with others. The audience will also enjoy your speech because now you are speaking from the heart, and when anyone speaks from the heart, it creates different vibes, so public speaking is very impactful if you say something from your heart. So choose your topic wisely.
13.) Enroll in a public speaking class.
Taking public speaking classes is one of the best ways to improve your public speaking skills.
You can take public speaking classes in a variety of ways, including attending offline public speaking classes or online public speaking classes.
The best return you can get from anywhere is from an investment done on yourself, so public speaking is a type of self-investment where you will get a very good return.
14.) Relax, meditate and do positive affirmations.
On your day of the presentation, try to meditate for at least 10 minutes on the day of presentation because meditation will increase your focus power and you will be able to perform well. Another famous exercise you can do to calm yourself is the 4-7-8 exercise. In this exercise, you have to take a breath for four seconds, then you have to hold it for seven seconds, and then exhale for eight seconds.
By practicing these exercises, you will reduce your anxiety about public speaking as well as the anxiety of day-to-day life.
15.) Constantly strives to improve.
No one is perfect, and no one stops growing. Even if you give the best speech of your life, there will always be a place or gap where you can improve.
Stop striving for perfection. Don’t make the same mistake twice. Analyze each speech to determine where you excelled and where you fell short. It could be your body language, your way of interacting, your speed of delivery, your strange facial expression, or anything. You just need to analyze those points and try to improve next time.
So try to participate as much as you can in the speech so that it will become your habit and then you will confidently go to any stage. You need to practice public speaking as much as you can. There is nothing to do in your comfort zone. You have to get out of your comfort zone if you really want to do something great in life. Life is not easy. You have to make it easy by the route you take and the choices you make.
17.) Dress well.
Dress well on the day of your public speaking, because dressing well gives you confidence. Imagine that you are not well dressed; your shirts are loose and dirty; your shoes are dirty; you are not well groomed. Your confidence level will be lower and the audience will give you a very strange look.
On the other hand, if you are well dressed and well groomed, you will feel more confident than in normal dress and the audience will also give you respect. Dress is very important when you are going to present yourself, so my request to those who are reading this is to please wear clean and well-dressed before you go for a speech.
CONCLUSION:
So I hope you learned the way to tackle your fear of public speaking, so now it’s time to take action. You cannot become an expert in public speaking just by sitting at home. You need to stand and take action. You need to face your fear. You need to go to the stage and start public speaking.
The person who has the courage to speak even though he knows he will fail is far superior to the person who does not even have the courage to stand and walk to the stage to speak.
These are all the points that you should consider if you want to improve your public speaking. But don’t think that it’s a one-night process. You have to practice, practice, and practice public speaking to become a good public speaker.
I hope this article was helpful to you and you have learned something new. I also hope you have built up the confidence to go on stage and face your fear. You can only remove the fear by facing it. There is no other option, so go ahead and face your fear. All the best.