Overcome Your Fears- PUBLIC SPEAKING

The words ‘public speaking’ is sometimes enough to cause anxiety in the minds of otherwise confident people.?

Does it happen to you too?

The thought of speaking in front of a group of people (even if it is amongst us Walkers) gets your heart pounding.?

It happens with most of us — even those at the top.?

“I don’t like being watched.”

“I don’t like the eyes on me.”

“I don’t like being in the spotlight.”

I’m sure you can relate to it, I certainly can.?

Let’s take another scenario- you are up there, speaking it out, but are you doing a good job?

You focus on your slides; look down; retreat into your notes.

In the process, you disregard the people in front of you.?

Even the most confident speakers find ways to distance themselves from their audience.?

We all know what the problem is, now a solution.

1. Prepare for your audience?

When we start preparing, the mistake we make is starting with the topic.?

Start with the audience-?

1. Who will be there??
2. Why are they there??
3. What do they need??

Identify the audience’s needs, and craft a message that speaks directly to those needs.

2. Don’t just memorize

1. Know your material. It’ll add to your confidence.
2. Rehearse several times before the big talk.?
3. Time your presentation and always have backup material.

Remember the key points and prompts on subtopics and examples to cover.

3. Refocus your mind

You are the most nervous right before you speak because your brain is telling you, “what if I make a fool of myself?” It is exactly at this moment that you need to refocus your brain. Remind yourself that you are here to help your audience.?

Talk to yourself, and train your mind to enjoy and relax.

4. Focus on a friend

We are all friends here, but if you need focus on 1 or 2 that you are most comfortable with and during your talk look them in the eye to feel reassured.?

5. Engage your audience

Everybody enjoys a good story, weave it into your presentation/ talk/ Q&A. Make it an interactive session, add some funny anecdotes, riddles, incidents. Ask your audience if you need to readjust your way of presenting.?

#PRO TIP- Work on your breathing. Follow the BRIEF.

It’s all easier than done, but then we are working on ourselves for ourselves, and it requires effort. If you need help, we have our volunteers :D