Performing a speech in front of a live audience, where all eyes are staring at you to listen and judge your words and you can barely get the words out because you think a blunder might pop up any next second by not speaking correctly or forgetting words, can unnerve even a seasoned speaker.
You are stammering, and only a few words come out when anxiety and stress are overpowering you. Too much stress on your nerves is like a fear so close to fear of death.
Fear of public speaking causes you to become nervous, sweaty, your cheeks are on fire, slowed breathing, and other reactions happen. But, this fear is taking you nowhere higher. It is only a drawback to your professional and personal growth.
No matter what the size of the audience is, the fear of public speaking will not let your message get addressed to them. You can’t explain your point in clear terms.
Professionally, you cannot succeed unless the fear of public speaking is within you.
It is said that fear is only as deep as the mind allows. So, we can also overcome the fear of public speaking by laying the fears to rest.
Crush your fear of public speaking with the help of the points given below:
- People Judge Your words, Not Who You Are:
When you are up for a public appearance, and you have to conduct an office presentation, a press conference, or anything else, you need just to be yourself. People are there to listen to you. The public will judge your words and not you as a person, so just relax and speak.
Nail the beginning and the end of your speech. The tempo with which you begin creates a lasting impression as does the ending – it will leave an image in the mind of the listener.
Choose the right words, and make your beginning and ending impressive.
Believe in yourself. Don’t let thoughts about yourself confuse your mind before a public speaking appearance. You need to tell yourself that you are well prepared; you trust that people will love your speech, you can hold the audience with your words, and you are not nervous but very excited to convey your message in the statement.
- Practice, As Practice Makes A Man Perfect:
It needs to be the golden rule in life. Yes, it is not an easy task, and nobody is perfect. But, hard work and preparation make things possible. Public speaking is a learnable skill. Practice and develop the ability. Visualize a venue and conference, and practice alone. Practice with your friends and colleagues, and ask them for feedback at the end.
Record your performance and review it later to make it better. You can either use a video camera or phone. Recording everything right from the start till the end is a great idea.
You can watch it or listen to it, and then make notes. There are many people who are not very comfortable with the thought of listening to their own voice. So, it is essential that you are comfortable listening to yourself. Only then you will be able to pay attention to the speaking style.
Keep on practicing this with all your dedication as everything requires hard work.
- Escape From Your Comfort Zone If You Want To Grow:
Failure is a common thing. People just don’t share their failures. It is the most dreaded topic for many people. Most of them do not wish to talk about it at all. Failure is a common thing that happens to everyone.
At least once in your lifetime, you will experience a failure as nobody is perfect. It is a sure thing to happen. It has happened with many great and successful people as well. But you can’t sit back and cry for a failure. Failure teaches you what went wrong, where you need to improve. You need to work on the fallacies and get better.
Anybody can fail. It is important to learn from your mistakes and failures. It is just that people don’t share their breakdown experiences. When people say they did an outstanding and brilliant performance, it doesn’t mean they were perfect. It means they did it better than the last performance. You will fail, not once maybe twice, thrice or more than that.
But, don’t lose hope. You can do it, and that should be your mantra for successful public speaking.
- Focus on Your Breathing:
Be aware of every breath you take, and you can control your nerves.
Yes, breathing helps a lot. Breathe and speak. When you are breathing deeply before and during your presentation, it calms your nerves and adds strength and power to your voice which makes your words more efficiently presentable.
Deep breathing will help in boosting your confidence, and your credibility enhances. It is associated with several positive effects on your health.
It is to enhance your public speaking, but monitored breathing will help in reducing stress and improve clarity in all areas of life. It is worth a try to be successful in life.
You need to practice breathing calmly and get into a rhythm. It is a public speaking exercise and can give you a better clarity of thoughts. Focusing on your breathing will also let you relax and give more resonance to your voice.
- Drink Warm Or Room Temperature Water:
It is a scientifically proven fact that taking sips of warm or room temperature water in between or before your presentation helps in speaking. You can also try squeezing a lemon into your water that helps in lubricating your throat. Try avoiding sugary beverages before speaking, as they can dry out your mouth and make it harder to talk.
- Avoid Talking Too Fast:
It is considered as a sign of nervousness. Your breathing patterns are disturbed when you babble during a speech. When you speak too quickly, you breathe less. It will leave you in a panic state and more susceptible to fear. So, avoid talking fast and practice to speak at a slow pace.
Give yourself those short breathing intervals in between so that you are calmer and relaxed during your public speaking.
- Make A Plan To Improve Your Next Speech:
Develop a plan of action depending on your previous presentations, to improve your future statements. Review your old public speaking appearances and check where did you perform less, were you stiff or made any weird facial expressions, was the use of PowerPoint an advantage to you?
You need to be aware of your rhythm so that you know what changes are required to enhance it, and accordingly, make a plan. You can review your performances through videos and audio recordings.
Keep on practicing and improving, and put an end to your fears of public speaking.
You might have to face the fear more than once. You may have accomplished a good performance this time, but the next might not be easy. Don’t be overconfident. Be prepared for different, unexpected situations. Increase your scope of practicing public speaking every time and remember you can always do it and you are a winner.
Conclusion
You need to trust yourself and keep going on in life. No fear is more significant than your faith in yourself and your work. It is just a matter of thinking.
Instruct your brain to relax, have fun while performing, and keep things and words easy and see what magic it creates in crushing your fear of public speaking.
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