What do you do if your public speaking confidence takes a hit?

If your public speaking confidence takes a hit, start by acknowledging the feeling and reflecting on any feedback you received. Understanding where things went wrong will help you improve. Plan your next talk with thorough research, as being well-prepared boosts confidence. Use humor to keep your discourse light and engaging, and focus on delivering fewer points with energy rather than overwhelming your audience with too much content. Most importantly, enjoy the stage when you speak. Embrace the moment, connect with the audience, and treat it as an opportunity to share your message with enthusiasm and confidence.

?? Catch the Drop: Rebuild Your Confidence in Public Speaking! Feel the Fall: Acknowledge when your confidence takes a hit—it's like dropping the mic, but the show isn't over. Pick Up the Mic: Accept the moment and reflect on what caused the stumble, without letting it define your abilities. Tune into Your Emotions: Recognize the nerves and fear; they’re signals that you care, and that’s powerful. Adjust the Volume: Start small—practice, gather feedback, and gradually turn up the confidence dial. Step Back on Stage: Embrace the challenge, knowing that every speaker faces setbacks; it’s how you rise that counts. By acknowledging your feelings, you can regain control and own the stage once again!

You celebrate. You give yourself a huge pat on the back. Why, because it shows you are doing the work, experimenting, growing and walking the path to becoming a confident, impactful speaker. You are doing great. Keep going ????

I've actually just written about this as part of my regular LinkedIn series called 'Adventures in Speaking'. Over the course of my speaking career, I've allowed others' negative comments to 'get inside my head'. It was not great for my confidence. But I also learned to overcome them and not give others to don't know me to have that much power over me. When receiving feedback, ALWAYS consider the source. Do you trust them to have your best interests in mind? Or are they trying to make themselves feel better? Would you take advice from them in other life areas i.e. do they have good character? If not, why would you listen to their advice? Of course I'm simplifying but some feedback isn't worth listening to. Be discerning.

If your public speaking confidence takes a hit, remember that setbacks are a natural part of growth. First celebrate yourself, you are doing better with each experience and keep practicing.

Beyond the tech snafus, you'll likely get feedback right away from your team - simply acknowledge what happened, how you feel and your sense of disappointment. Your team will empathize with you and they'll work with you to help pick up the pieces - if not, get a new job/new teammates ;^)

Ask trusted colleagues, friends, or mentors for feedback. Their insights can help you recognize your strengths and areas to improve, boosting your confidence.

El miedo hablar en público es uno de los más generalizados pero, como todo, se puede combatir. Ensaya, ensaya y ensaya. Cuanto más controlado tengas lo que quieras decir, mejor. Eso sí, jamás te aprendas un discurso de memoria, únicamente ten muy claro el esquema y las ideas a tratar.

The human brain is hardwired to focus on the negative - it's a survival mechanism. This is why it's so crucial to proactively remind yourself how far you have gone. Instead of getting dwarfed by the feeling of inadequacy, remind yourself of all your accomplishments as a speaker. Look back at your previous talks, see the pictures, read your testimonials and remind yourself that what you are experiencing now is just a small bump on the road.

1. Analyse and work on the reason that is pulling you down. Sometimes it may be a personal reason. Remember these are just temporary and will pass on. 2. Do not feel guilty or blame yourself 3. Slowly work on getting back your flow and you would bounce back with more energy

Very important to know what you said/didn't say to get the meeting off-track - as the old adage goes, those that don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Ensure you view it as a learning opportunity - as that's the only way to improve!

Take time to reflect on past experiences, noting what worked and what could be improved. See setbacks as chances to grow and use each experience to build your confidence as a speaker.

As I have certainly dealt with the "learning curve" of speaking in front of a crowd, I can attest that - for me- being prepared (even over-prepared) is the fastest way to regain confidence after a speaking flop. I learned very quickly that "winging it" is not a proper strategy. Since the "epic bomb", I practice for every possible situation I can foresee (microphone malfunction, air conditioning breaking, sitting, standing, walking around the crowd, bringing an extra outfit, extra pair(s) of shoes, etc.). It is like riding a horse, don't let too much time lapse after a fall before riding again. The only way to improve is to do it again.

Keep taking swings of the bat and mentally prepare yourself that you will knock it out of the park - if you think things will go wrong, then they will. I have done this w/family to ensure that my preso's are spot-on when I have limited time and a complex topic.

Rebuild your confidence. Plan your next speaking engagement for a low risk environment. It can be with a smaller group or organization. You can also invite a few colleagues or allies to support you in the audience and bring you some reassurance. I always love seeing familiar faces at my speaking engagement. It's a major morale boost for me.

Every opportunity to present and share in small or big groups is a chance to practice making the improvements that we need in our speaking progress. I make use of even casual conversations with my family members to gradually reduce the number of pause-fillers e.g. "ah", "er", "erm"s in my spoken communication. When doing presentations formally either face-to-face or virtually, I also make a more conscious effort to be comfortable with pauses and silences. The small successes from the daily practice helps build up into noticeable and tangible changes over time.

I've never done this but I think it's an excellent idea - find a place that you find least judgmental/least threatening and start there. Excellent idea.

If your public speaking confidence takes a hit, humor can help you "laugh and stay positive." When something goes wrong, you could say, "Well, that didn’t go as planned—good thing I’m not aiming for a flawless performance today!" This allows you to acknowledge the setback while staying upbeat. Focus on what you enjoy about speaking and remind yourself of past successes. Humor not only lightens your own mood but reassures the audience that you’re resilient. By keeping things light and embracing the learning experience, you can rebuild confidence and continue enjoying the process.

When I was younger, whenever I did something "stupid" like forgetting to bring my keys when going out or leaving my mobile phone in the car after exiting it, I used to mentally berate myself for being, "careless", "stupid" etc. Our thoughts ultimately affect the quality of our lives, I have since learnt over time to replace those negative thoughts with "it's all right", "it's ok". When we encounter momentary failures, it is normal for us to tend to focus on negative thoughts. We can learn to turn those thoughts into neutral ones, "that's interesting" when we make mistakes as it is a learning opportunity. Over time, we can progress the neutral thoughts into positive ones, e.g. "how can I learn from this and become better".