How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking?

Do you get stressed and super anxious when you try to speak on stage in front of hundreds of faces? There might even be some occasions where you would have thought of running right away if you could. A bad speech delivery will indeed ruin your image to others if it's poor.

If public speaking is your problem and you want to overcome it, then this blog is just for you. You will be getting tips on how to perform well as a presenter or public speaker, both in your professional and personal lives.

Learn from the Internet.

We can take advantage of the internet to observe how the best of the best speak in front of the public. Find the top 7 Tedx talk shows and watch how the speaker is giving their public speech. Observe how people from different aspects of life speak, such as spirituals, CEOs, founders, kids and environmentalists.

Just passionately watch these 7 public speaking videos that you are passionate about. Don't take any notes, as this will distract you from the original purpose of watching. After each speech, note a few things. How you felt and their body language.

Crafting the speech

If you are going to do public speaking, the first thing that should come to your mind is, “What am I going to talk about?” So get a clear message and create headings and pointers related to the message you are going to convey.

We are not writing a whole essay or article here. Just a message (topic), headings and related pointers. All the paragraphs will be in your brain.

These pointers are there just to remind you. Make sure your message is short, clear and engaging.

Short so that you can remember, clear so that they don't get confused, and engaging so that they keep listening.

Keep Practicing, Practing and Practicing!

After watching these many experts, you might have started noticing how they use their hand gestures, body language, head movement and tone of voice. Try to practice these. The more you deliver the speech, the more familiar you will get with the suit you wear, the stage you stand on, the seas of faces and eyes staring at you, and much more.

At first, everyone feels the jitters, and we should see it as normal. Even the biggest speakers get a bit of butterflies in their bellies, but that is just natural.

If you don't want to practice in a real scenario, then you can join a community or deliver a speech in front of a friendly audience that can also help you with feedback. These can be local teachers, your family, friends or even your mature enough kids.

Prepare Ahead Of Time.

Its best reach is at the location where you are going to enjoy the speech. Arriving 1 hour ahead would be super fine. In this period, you can check all the audio and video devices and bring in a hard copy of your speech, as sometimes the internet does not work.

Try to avoid anything like coffee, cold drinks and lactose products. Just get mild, warm water or room-temperature water before any speech.

Pro tip: try to deliver your speech when there is no one around out loud in low volume.

Focus on the message.

We get more stressed as we focus on ourselves rather than the message. Our focus should not be on us. I am very nervous! I think I have forgotten the script! Maybe my hair is not right! Maybe I won't be able to speak.

The audience is not there to criticize you, but it is there waiting for you, filled with curiosity about what you are going to say. The message can be average; we are not going to launch a rocket to Mars; just keep your delivery right. Dissolve your ego.

Raise your energy.

Having high energy can perk up the audience as well. Mental preparation is important, but be ready physically too. Try to avoid too much drinking or socializing with friends before the day. Go to bed early; don't think much about it.

When you get on the stage, remember all the points. If you are going to sound dull, your audience won't enjoy any of your messages or your delivery.

Story from experience with message

Try to think of a story that can inspire, motivate or pursue the audience; after all, the purpose of this public speech is to change the behavior of the audience. As each of us has a unique life experience, we have something rare to speak about. Use that with your message.

You can also research the group or audience that will be there to listen to you.

Check what their background is, where they are from, what companies they work for, etc.; this might help you a bit with your research.

To Sum This Up

Don’t think too much about yourself, focus on your message, the audience is there for you not against you. Be well prepared. Do your practice with a friendly audience. Craft a well- written speech. Take a nice rest before the speech day.

Don't drink something of extreme temperature. Craft your own story with the message to move the audience's emotions. Use proper body language, eye contact and hand gestures.