Are you SCARED of PUBLIC SPEAKING?
Sandeep Kochhar
StoryTeller, C Suite Coach & Author. "Failure Ant" that never gives up! 4500 Stories. 11 Million lives impacted. DOTS (Do One Thing Surely).
"I am SCARED to SPEAK in PUBLIC"
"I feel they are all watching me & they will laugh at me if I make a mistake.
If I make a mistake, they all will come to know I am not good enough.
I have this fear."
As I shared this with my coach, I realized this was stopping me from becoming a good speaker. I would prepare a lot but forget things I had prepared. The pressure would get to me.
My coach shared 6 simple tips to help me:
1. Find some people in the audience who are smiling at you & encouraging you. Look at them during your talk.
2. If you are fearful to look at people, look at a few things at the back of the room. This way people will not distract you.
3. Speak more in public, take every opportunity till the fear goes away. Start with smaller groups, slowly increase the audience as you get better. Speaking in meetings is also a good way to start.
4. Think you are the only subject matter expert on the topic you are speaking, imagine the audience is foolish & the fear will go away. It was a nice way to fool my mind:)
5. Rehearse several times before the mirror, before your talk. Write down your talk. Use a presentation to help you if possible.
6. Use humour to build a connection with the audience. Laughing at yourself sometimes is also a great way to reduce your fear. If you can call our your nervousness it will go away.
As I tried for the first few talks, I made mistakes, but as I did more of them, I became better at it.
I have always been fearful of public speaking, there were 3 reasons for this:
领英推荐
1. What if I make a mistake and everyone will laugh at me?
2. What will others think about me? I was concerned about others perceptions this increased my fear. I wanted to impress.
3. I always felt I was not good at it, I was hiding it. I felt I will be exposed:)
All of these pointed to my insecurities more than anything else. I wanted to show the world that I was good. The expectation started to pressurize me hence the fear increased.
The result of the fear was I began to fumble, my legs would shake, and I felt everyone was evaluating me.
There was also a greed to show others I was good even if I was not :) Deep within we all know the truth about ourselves.
The funny part was I was a good speaker yet I struggled so much. Now imagine what would have happened if I was not:)
As I became aware of my fear & greed I slowly improved. I also started to speak about my nervousness openly, this eased the tension.
Do you fear public speaking?
Do you experience fear or greed?
Thoughts?
Book your personalized career coaching session -? https://www.paintminds.com/career-services/coaching?utm_source=newsletter+-+29%2F08%2F2022&utm_medium=linkedin+newsletter
"Electronics and Communication Engineering Student | IoT & Robotics Enthusiast | Python Developer"
1 年Even I had a fear a lot, even I am in btech now because of the fear I couldn't join the clubs
Singer | Artist | Media Researcher | Former Broadcast Consultant
2 年Wonderfully articulated! This is exactly what goes on in one’s mind in such situations. I started with singing to overcome my fear right from my childhood by participating in programmes and going on stage at every opportunity. To overcome our fears we can start with doing things that we are comfortable at. This helps in building confidence.
Digital Marketer, Social media marketer, Facebook ads manager, Facebook marketer, LinkedIn Promotion, Twitter Promotion, Instagram Marketer and ads manager, Email Marketer, Email Signature, Youtube Promotion.
2 年Hi. I am Professional Facebook /Instagram/LinkedIn ads and marketing expert. I have completed many practical project with responsibility. I have 4+ years experience on ads. If your need it’s. please contact me. https://www.fiverr.com/alex_sagor/be-your-social-media-marketing-and-advertising-manager
Freelance Consultant at Management & Career consultants
2 年almost ten years while going on stage / in front of audience, I use to feel sick stomach.... Particularly Tip no 5 & 6 are very helpful I followed religiously and now it worked as wonder. Thanks Sandeep for sharing such a nice article.
Business Development Manager
2 年When your position becomes smaller in front of that big personality, Be it a Boss, Governor or VVIPs, you get a feeling from Inside, you despite being an Ace, still has the fear whether you will be able to perform well or will you succeed ?? It is natural, in front of Big Big personalities, Small person does fear !!! Correct me if I am wrong ??? Thanks.