Mic And Yikes!!!

Have you ever heard of Glossophobia? No, it is not a fear of making things too shiny. It is actually something that 75% of the population suffer from. It is the fear of public speaking. That means that 3 out of 4 people who read this post will go weak at the knees at the thought of having to speak in front of a crowd. The reasons are many.

What If I get a dry throat?

What if I miss pronounce a word and everyone laughs.

What If I forget what I had to say?

What if an Elephant runs into the room, fires water out of his truck, and saturates my notes?

The thing is a lot of the time as people we focus on what could go wrong rather then, what could go right. We build up the occasion to be bigger than it is and we overlook the simple solutions to things when they do go wrong.

If you get a dry throat, have a bottle of water beside you. If you miss pronounce a word borrow a line from David Brent "Im not used to public squeaking, I biss pronounciate a lot of my worms” If you forget what to say speak from the heart and if an Elephant does saturate your notes you will have the ultimate story to tell.

The thing to remember is that being nervous is perfectly normal. Even the other 25% who do not fear public speaking will have some element of nerves, the difference between them and the other 75% is they practice and they prepare. But nerves can be good. They trigger your fight or flight instinct and can make you perform better then you could have ever imagined.

The best way of getting a good response to what you are saying is to know your audience. Do your research on who you are going to be speaking too, know what motivates them and you can expect an engaged response. During your speech, you can gauge the audience’s reaction to what you are saying and with experience; you can adjust how you are delivering your message. From my experience of doing some stand-up comedy many years ago, I know the importance of the first 30 Seconds. If you can get an audience on your side early on, they are putty in your hands, bore them in the first 30 Seconds and you will not have to worry about mispronouncing any words as sleeping people rarely notice.

 Organisation is also key, rather than having a long-winded written message, make notes in bullet points. How many times have you had to listen to someone read a message out and you think, “why not just give this as a handout at the end”. If you organise your notes in bullet points they are far easier to follow encase you do get distracted mid speech. Writing in bullet points also promotes speaking rather than reading, because people have come to hear you talk, not read.

The most important part of public speaking is also the most important part of life, Be Yourself. It sounds cliché but it is so important. If you have a sense of humour let it shine, do not keep it locked down as you think people in suits should have no sense of humour. Allowing the real you come out also allows people to build a trust for you, when people can tell you are being yourself they warm to you more and having them on your side makes for a smoother more enjoyable experience.

If you are going to be talking for any length of time at all, avoid facts and figures over load. Some facts and figures will be required to back up your message but instead of bulking it out with numbers, try going back to the old art of storytelling. People will remember a well told story long after the event and numbers will be a blur.

 I was once asked to give a speech at a wedding during my main course, as the person doing it had become a bag of nerves. I went off on my own to think for 10 minutes what I would say, told a few one-liners to get people laughing and then simply spoke from the heart from there on in. The truth is if I had of had a month to prepare I would of not delivered anything much better. The point here is you know your subject matter a lot better than you think you do, as important as it is to be prepared over preparing can make your delivery wooden and come across too rehearsed. Learn your content, do not memorise it.

So to summarise the next time you are asked to speak to people on a subject that you know well and a little voice in your head starts telling you all the negative reasons as to why you should say no, switch your thoughts to everything that can go right and say Yes. Face the Fear head on. Be prepared, be engaging, be natural and be yourself.