How to Overcome A Fear of Public Speaking (And Be More Successful)
Did you know that the number one fear of most Americans is public speaking? If you have a fear of public speaking, you are not alone, but considering it is an integral part of business success, you will need to learn how to overcome fear of public speaking.
Studies show that people who speak well are seen as more knowledgeable, believable, smarter, more competent and more trustworthy. By conquering your fear of public speaking, you will close more sales, persuade more customers, win more proposals, influence investors and motivate those who work with you and for you.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
PLAN AHEAD. The best presentations are ninety percent planning and 10 percent personality. To decrease public speaking anxiety, you need to research your topic thoroughly. Prepare an outline of what you want to say and stick to it. If you are new to public speaking, it helps to have audio-visual aids. When the audience is focusing their attention on a screen instead of you, it is sometimes less stressful. Be sure you have enough material to fill the allotted time. Nothing creates anxiety more than having to fill empty air time.
-
2
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Overcoming public speaking anxiety is the reason for practice. The more you practice, the easier it gets. The more automatic your speech gets, the less anxiety will screw you up once you get in front of a crowd. Anxiety clouds the mind, which makes it harder to think. So if you have practiced so much that the speech becomes second nature, you are more likely to do well even if you are anxious.
Practicing out loud is an important part of overcoming the fear of public speaking. If you only practice a speech in your head, you will not do as well as when you practice out loud. Hearing your voice reinforces your thoughts and organization of the material. Practicing out loud helps memorization and improves mental clarity.
-
-
3
LOOK AT YOURSELF . Use a mirror so you can see how you look while you're talking. Are you stiff or relaxed? Do you keep your hands glued to your sides, flailing about, or relaxed and expressive? Are you smiling or too serious? Practicing in a mirror provides a visual distraction similar to the distraction of an audience. You need to get used to thinking while taking in visual stimulus.
Enlist the help of friends, your spouse or co-workers to help you practice. The more times you give your speech in front of an audience, even an audience of one, you will create a mental pathway for your brain to automatically go down as you begin your presentation for your real audience. The more times you successfully complete your speech for your practice audiences, the more likely you will be able to speak publicly without fear.
-
4
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. You don't want to be telling conservative jokes to a liberal audience. That's a sure way to fall on your face. If you don't know the make-up of your audience, ask the person who assigned you the speaking job.
-
5
WHAT CAN GO WRONG? Fear of public speaking often comes from the realization that we might make a mistake. Try to envision what mistakes could possibly happen: the electricity is pulled from your projector during your presentation; someone asks a question you can't answer; someone laughs at a part of your speech that wasn't supposed to be funny; you forget a part of your speech.
After you have written down all possible scenarios of what could go wrong, think of how you could respond if they do happen. The more prepared you are for possible trouble during your speech, the more likely you are to appropriately handle any negative interruption of your presentation, even if it wasn't one of the scenarios that you had previously thought about.
-
6
FOCUS. In order to relax when facing a crowd, try to focus on the face of one person in the audience, instead of everyone at once. By pretending that you are talking to one person instead of 100 people, speakers can often overcome their fear of speaking before a crowd. Look for a friendly face, someone who is smiling or nodding in agreement. Once you are relaxed, you can let your eyes move to others.
If looking directly at people makes you nervous, focus on the back of the room where it is less easy to see people's faces or expressions, but try not to look like you are disconnected from your audience. Be sure you smile and are not stiff.
-
7
EVERYONE GETS NERVOUS. Even experienced speakers get nervous before they have to speak in public. The trick to overcoming public speaking anxiety is to start off with something that will relax everyone, including you. This is why so many speakers begin their presentations with a joke. Laughter starts the proceedings on a positive note and that kind of immediate reception is reassuring to a speaker. Just make sure your joke is funny. Practice that on several people to get their response before you use it in a presentation.
From newscasters to presidents, even the most famous speakers have forgotten their lines at one time or another. If you are the type to forget what you want to say when you are nervous, mentally prepare yourself for what you will do. Think of something to say that will ease yourself and your audience, and let them know that you are still in control, even though you may have lost your place. For example, ahead of time, search the internet for a joke dealing with forgetfulness. Have it on a note card or at the bottom of your notes so it is easily accessible. Use it to buy yourself time to think, or sort through your notes, while people are laughing.
-
8
CONTROL YOUR VOICE. People who have a fear of public speaking often show a lack of confidence in the nervous tone of their voice. Wavering, high squeaky voices do not command attention. Low volume, hesitant speaking voices are also perceived as uninspiring and unbelievable. Practice speaking loudly, clearly and without a nervous waver in your voice. If you find yourself getting nervous right before you are to speak, begin deep breathing exercises. People who are nervous tend to hold their breath and shortness of breath leads to a wavering voice.
If you practice meditation, you will be able to call upon those techniques when you start to get that nervous tone in your voice.
-
9
JOIN TOASTMASTERS. Toastmasters' focus is on overcoming public speaking anxiety in its members. It is an international organization that anyone can join. You have nothing to lose but your fear of public speaking. Go to www.toastmasters.org for more information.
-
1
