3 things you might not have considered for your nervous speaking habits

We all get nervous before speaking to a large crowd. And those fears evolve over time. For me, it is as if I get over one fear in order to realize something else that produces the same nervousness. Most of my jitters are related to the content of my speech, so these are a few measures I take before and during a speech to be my most confident self on stage.

Check every word for confidence

I find if I have the slightest doubt in what I am saying it will magnify in my mind ten times over. Especially under the bright lights and the scrutiny of a crowd. So double check your words, complete fact checks or have someone do it for you. When you can breathe with confidence that what you are saying is your best work and research, that will be one less worry on your mind.

Paraphrase

Memorizing every line for a speech takes a lot of practice. What takes more practice is to be able to paraphrase and reach the same conclusion in your speech every time. But as the saying goes, what you put in is what you get out of it.

I find that when I am paraphrasing I can throw off my nervousness even faster on stage. Because I know what I am going to say and I am passionate about it. I feel my mind taking over near the middle of the speech and I have time to think and process, almost as if I was having a real conversation with someone. Paraphrasing my ideas help me shake out any words or ideas that aren't mine because those are harder to pull from memory than my own experience.

Look at your audience before you get on stage

I find looking at the audience before they become my audience really helps me to not go into shock when I get on stage. When the lights are bright and you feel the audience turn all of their attention to you the instinct to run seems like a really good idea. But whether I am in a smaller room with 5 or 6 people or a large auditorium with a thousand, I try to glance over the people in the crowd. I am not judging whether they will accept my speech, which will always surprise you, I am just trying to memorize their faces. When I do get on stage it feels like I am looking at familiar faces, just from a different view. Another thing I do is check where the entrances and exits are so I am not surprised when someone walks in and I have an expectation of where different distracting movements will be as I am on stage.

Other tips that could help you, is looking for nice faces. People who are smiling and leaning in are telling me that I am speaking at the right pace and making clear points. If they ever sit back I know to slow down and maybe reiterate my last amazing point. If I find someone who is frowning all the way through I generally look above their heads so as not to get distracted.

If I really know the organizer or the person who introduces me, I will often let them know it is okay to wave their hands a little at me if I am speaking too fast. This has helped me out a few times when I really was not aware how fast I was speaking. The last time this happened to me I glanced at the front row and my ally was raising her hands up and down in her lap to signal me to slow down. This was at my most successful speech yet and I had the chance to fix a mistake in the middle!

If my hands are shaking my default post is clasped hands above the waist. Never too low like I am guarding my lower body against an attack. But with my hands raised it will look like I am engaged from the audience. And then I try my best to power through the rest of the speech.

You will always be surprised with who takes away something valuable from what you say. The important thing to remember is that it is the audience's job to decide WHAT they hear. You are there to give your perspective, and if that's the case, your job is to believe in yourself and what you are saying.

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