Three more fears of public speaking to overcome

Being able to speak confidently before an audience, whether it is a speech or in a meeting, is seen as a crucial skill in business. However this skill does not come as easily to everyone, there are some people who naturally feel confident on a stage, but for most of us, standing before a group goes together with an increased heart rate and different fears of public speaking. In today’s article we’ll further discuss three more fears in addition to the previous article, that people regularly experience when talking for an audience.

1)???? The fear of not being able to satisfy everyone

Although it is a very nice characteristic to have, realistically you won’t be able to satisfy everyone in your audience because everyone will have different expectations of your presentation and they’ll experience your presentation differently as well. However, what you can do is improve your chances at making as many people as possible happy after your presentation. The first thing to do is to frame your presentation the right way, make sure the audience knows what they’ll get so that they won’t be disappointed. For example, starting with a table of contents is always a good idea. If you are talking to a relatively small audience, you even have the chance to ask them what they would like to discuss, given that it lies within the main topic of your presentation. In that way you can tailor your presentation specifically to your audience. Lastly, try to add as many practical examples as possible. This will make what you are presenting much more tangible for the audience and they’ll leave the room knowing how they can implement what you just talked about.

2)???? The fear of not knowing the answer to questions from the audience

If your audience is very interested in the topic of your presentation, it is inevitable that they’ll ask some questions. This can instill fear in you as a speaker as this is the part of the presentation you can’t specifically prepare. However, you can ask yourself some questions that might be asked during the presentation beforehand and prepare some additional slides to address them. This will definitely increase the professional outlook of your presentation. Otherwise, if you don’t know the answer you may say that because it is better to be honest than to make something up on the spot that might be wrong. Another way to solve this problem is to ask the question to the audience, maybe someone can help you. Lastly, if you don’t feel like answering the question right away, either because you don’t know the answer, or you don’t want to stop the presentation, you can always say to the person asking the question that you’ll address it after the presentation.

3)???? The fear of not being able to convey your message

Of course, if you prepare a presentation, your main concern should be to convey your message correctly. So it is normal that you fear the fact that it might not go as planned and that your message might be misunderstood. The best tip I can give you regarding this topic is WIIFT: What’s in it for them? Ask yourself this question while preparing the presentation and look at it from the perspective of the audience. Make sure you use the right language, for example don’t use too much jargon. Next, using visual tools like a PowerPoint will help you structure your presentation and it will be easier for your audience to follow. Lastly, practice your presentation with friends or family and ask them for feedback! If you want to read more about this, we’ve a got a whole article covering how to effectively deliver a message on our website!

Hopefully these tips, alongside the ones discussed in the previous article, will help you with your next presentation! If you would like to know more about us or our workshops, don’t hesitate to take a look at our website or contact us at [email protected]. Additionally, we are organizing an open session on 16/11 and 5/12 where we’ll give a full training about presentation skills and public speaking. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us via [email protected] to find out more about this.

?

The TC3 Team

?