10 Public Speaking Tips for Petrified Presenters

I needed these tips in my 20s...

At the time I was struggling with severe social anxiety.

Any time I was in the spotlight, I’d experience uncontrollable panic.

It turned public speaking into my greatest fear.

After much trial and error, I eventually conquered my fears and ended up performing in the theatre, speaking on stage, and training others to speak.

Who'd a thought it, eh?

So here's 10 quick-fire tips will help you communicate confidently.

Let's go!

1. Be a social butterfly BEFORE your speech.

Anxious speakers tend to hide themselves away before a speech.

Which get's them even more worked up.

By all means check you notes and centre yourself. But make sure to socialize too.

• Say hello to people on your way in.
• Speak with your colleagues beforehand.
• Chat with the event organisers or other speakers.

Trust me - the more people you chat with beforehand, the less daunting it will feel to address everyone together.

2. Make the stage “known territory”.

When acting in the theatre, I made a point of walking around the stage before performing.

It helped me get a feel for the venue, guage the space, and visualise the audience.

Doing so transforms the stage from “unknown ground” to “familiar territory”.?

And familiarity, feels safe.

The same applies when public speaking.

Whether you're in a conference hall or a meeting room - arrive early, walk around the room, get comfortable in the space and make it 'your own'.

It'll have a huge impact on how calm and confident you feel.

3. Memorise your introduction for a confident start.

The first minute of a speech can be the most challenging.?

Your adrenaline is peaked, and the audience are forming first impressions.

By committing your introduction to memory, you can guarantee a strong start. Rehearsing forms a mental “groove” that makes it almost impossible for you to go off-track.?

So you can nail the opening, and get into your flow.

4. Use audience interaction as a pressure-valve.

For anxious speakers, a room full of people staring at you can trigger a nervous meltdown.

The panic keeps on building until the pressure gets too high and you literally fight, flight or freeze.

Audience interaction can be used as a "pressure-valve" to release this pent-up adrenaline - you can:

• Ask for a show of hands.

• Throw out a specific question.
• Set people into groups for discussion.

Doing so takes the focus (and pressure) off you - even for a few seconds. Giving you time to take a few deep breaths, and compose yourself.

Audience interaction is a great tool for engagement. But if you're anxious, plan it into your speech as a strategic pressure-valve.

5. Focus on what you're there to GIVE (not get!)

Nervous speakers focus on what they need from the audience: praise, approval, acceptance, buy-in.

Immediately disempowering them.

Instead, aim to focus your thoughts on what you can give to the audience: an insight, an idea, an emotion.?

This puts you back in a position of power.

Be clear about what your audience needs, then concentrate all your efforts on giving them as much value as possible.

6. Always have water on-hand.

I was once hit by the dreaded “dry mouth” half-way through a speech to 200 people.

My mouth felt like the sahara desert.

I kept licking my lips between sentences.

If only I'd had a water bottle...

Do yourself a favour and keep a glass of water nearby. Even when you're feeling confident, it's easy to get a dry mouth when speaking for any length of time.

For extra charisma-points, time your sip right after a rhetorical question.

7. Let your body USE the adrenaline.

The physical symptoms of public speaking anxiety are produced by adrenaline.

Your body flushes with stress hormones to fight or flight yourself away from perceived danger.

This energy needs to go somewhere - so use it:

• Purposefully move around the stage.
• Make your gestures broad and animated.
• Breathe deeply and project your voice.

Rather than letting that nervous energy spill-out as shaky hands and a quivering voice, direct it more intentionally.?

8. Control your nerves with conscious breathing.

People under-estimate the power of breathing.

Because it doesn’t work the way they think.

Breathing wont immediately remove your butterflies.

It works on a more subtle level - think of an anchor keeping a ship in place, despite a storm raging above water.

In the same way, your anxiety might still feel very real on the surface, but at a deeper level, breathing keeps you grounded and composed.?

9. Share the lime-light with impactful slides.

If you’re uncomfortable being the centre of attention, use striking visuals to draw the audiences attention.

Helping you to relax, while keeping them engaged.

The more captivating the better.?

You can even play a short video, or use a prop - for the same dual-purpose of engaging the audience, and easing your nerves.

10. Slow your speech, calm your anxiety.

A dead give-away for nerves: speaking too fast.?

It's difficult to slow down when your bodies ready to run from a predator.

But without pauses and pacing, your message will be lost.

It feels daunting to hold silence - but doing so will counter-intuitively make you calmer.

The best place to start is at the beginning.

Pause at the very start of your speech. Take a moment to look at your audience, breath deeply, and steady yourself.

Open with a calm pace, and you'll be less likely to end in a sprint.

I transformed from anxious speaker to confident communicator, and so can you.

Anxiety can be a huge challenge when speaking in public, but it’s something that anyone can overcome.

Don’t lose hope, and never feel like you’re helpless.

Keep facing your fears, keep building your skills, and earn your confidence.

The rewards are well worth it.

In the mean time, I hope these 10 tips help!

Kind Regards,

Ed

Ready to speak with confidence?

DM me here on LinkedIn to get started!

Article originally posted here.

www.projectcharisma.com