How can you overcome stage fright and expand your speaking niche?

Focusing on the purpose versus the performance is key. Not easy, but it’s possible. Typically our fears stem from what others will think and all the areas that make us human, so realize you’re not alone. What I found tremendously helpful is my belief in the message or subject matter I am speaking on. If that element is missing, then I certainly will go into a performance mode that my audience will immediately sense. Besides the obvious things like knowing your material, practicing, and rehearsing it is essential that we personally connect with what we are attempting to convey to our listeners. That connection doesn’t occur because we practice. It occurs because we truly believe what we’re speaking on is true for us first.

When I started my public speaking journey, I was tremendously afraid of eye contact. Once someone made strong eye contact with me, I would become uncomfortable and forget my speech almost immediately which led to stuttering and mumbling of my words. I knew this was a huge problem so I decided to overcome this fear by making sure my speech was well memorized and practiced so that even if I made eye contact and got uncomfortable, the words wouldn't disappear from my head in those moments and it worked perfectly for me. A rule of thumb I use is for every 1 minute of speech, I practice for 1 hour.

You're likely being asked to speak on topics you know. It's, therefore, likely that you understand your topics better than most people in the room. Use that to your advantage. Be prepared to engage in a dialog with your audience about the topics to be covered. Try to imagine talking to one or two people in a constructive dialog.

4 things that help: 1. Focussing only on the first sentence right before you go on stage, rather than the whole thing. If you have practiced well enough, you will be able to trust that the whole thing will flow on stage effortlessly. 2. Shooting a video of yourself and watching it. This gives you both, a lot of pointers on where you need to improve and a lot of confidence if you do things well. 3. Getting feedback from someone knowledgeable before you go on stage. 4. Deep breathing (6 long breaths make a huge difference)

Every speaker experienced stage fright at some point in their career, including myself. To help manage this problem I always try to visit the visit the stage a day before my scheduled speech as this is the calm before the storm. At that moment, I just sat or stood in silence and pictured myself delivering an excellent speech with no stage fright, I found this tricked my brain into being familiar with the environment the following day and it made me feel more comfortable and more at ease.

Leaders seeking to overcome stage fright and expand their speaking niche should understand their fears and practice regularly with visualization and positive affirmations. Deep breathing, starting with smaller audiences, and engaging with the audience help manage nerves. Prioritize thorough knowledge of the material, audience interaction, and shifting focus from self-perception to the message's value. Joining public speaking groups, seeking coaching, and using humor are essential. Accepting imperfections, recording speeches, and self-reward contribute to growth. This strategic approach fosters effective public speaking, enhancing leadership presence.

This step has been the most helpful for me to improve public speaking, through seeking feedback usually I have been reminded my blind spots.

Learning never stops until we're 6 feet under the ground. After every speech, I always ask for constructive feedback as this helps me to improve my craft and become a better communicator. When I started my speech journey at Toastmasters, I was notorious for poor body language, anytime I gave a speech, my hands and legs were all over the place. After getting feedback, I knew I had to work on my body language and with time it became better because I acted on the feedback I got. Getting feedback is great, acting on the feedback is the most important

At work, it's quite likely that you will know people in your audience. Pick out a friendly person, and imagine talking to him/her/them. When coaching my employees in public speaking, I would sit in the audience to provide them with a friendly face, a supportive look, and a prompting question to keep them calm, confident, and on topic.

If a speaker does not know the niche he is catering to, that is a recipe for disaster. It is like going to battle with an enemy without knowing who they are, such a battle is lost before it even starts. For my most recent speech, I decided to research about the topic ahead of time to ensure I provided relevant and up-to-date information to my audience and they helped. I also try to share my speech with 2 or 3 of my most trusted friends and ask them for their opinions and feedback. This helps me feel confident going into the speech with relevant and valuable information to my audience.

Diversification of content is vital to speech delivery. Facts tell stories to sell. One of the ways I use to diversify my speech is storytelling. This method has proven to be very engaging, persuasive, and thought-provoking to my audience as this allows them to see things from my perspective. Another way I diversify my speech is by adding engaging pictures randomly along my slide to break the pattern of my audience.

Some great advice that was shared and stuck with me is not to look at speaking as a performance that everyone has come to watch but instead as you sharing something (content) with the crowd that is going to improve their lives or help them. When you look at it this way you're less focused on you being a performer. You're simply sharing something you are passionate and knowledgeable about for the greater good!