Absolutely, everyone cringes at the thought of making any public speaking commitment. It is known to be more feared than death, so do not worry you are not alone. Our fears come out when it’s a new and unknown experience and we are scared of failing. It may feel like you will end up looking stupid or not get the response from the audience you were expecting. Here are a few tips on how to get past the butterflies and the fear taking over every muscle of your body.
"Our fears come out when it’s a new and unknown experience"
Choose topics that you are comfortable with
If you know the topic like the back of your hand it becomes easier for you to remember what you have to say. You will also be able to move on to other aspects of the topic if you get stuck at any point. There is a catch though – if your topic is technical, remember to make it as simple as you can. If a child can understand your more abstract concepts – it is much easier to remember and you will be able to push your message across.
Think of your final outcome
Always keep the core purpose of your speech in mind when you put it all together. It enables you to focus your energy towards bringing out the purpose over worrying about everything else.
For example – Do you want to educate these children on cyber safety? Do you want to entertain this audience with hilarious stories from your past? Do you want to motivate and persuade your staff to reach their targets even though it seems impossible?
The final outcome is the driving force of any public speaking requirement and you will always know where your conversation should lead.
Find your points of attention
Once you enter the venue, find three focal points within the audience. Lots of people love to listen to you when they feel like you are giving them face to face attention. This will make sure you that they feel that they have your attention while you glance through an audience over fixating on everyone all at once which can be sometimes overwhelming.
Breathe
Always remember it’s all in your mind as we sometimes forget to breathe when we see so many eyes on us. Take equal breaths and focus on your center of gravity. Just remember you’ve got this and just breathe. Think of it as the same as the warm-up routines you do just before you start your exercise routine for the day – breathe, relax, and meditate if it helps you. Find your own routine that calms you down.
Take every opportunity you get
Unfortunately, getting over stage fright is not as easy as reading a task list of do’s and don’ts. You need to take every opportunity you get to speak be it even for a few minutes or presentations on what your team is doing for the quarter. Every time you take up an opportunity, make sure you have someone in the audience who can give you learning points on how to improve. Repeatedly, making speeches on various topics has always been my go-to solution to improving. Also, making it a point to reviewing other people’s speeches to understand what makes them interesting or making note of attributes I should avoid myself.
Everyone feels anxious when they make a speech in front of an audience, even the great orators of our time! You have to accept that this is inevitable especially during the first few minutes as you start getting used to the stage and the audience. Don’t resist the anxiety but own it! Focus on your core message and smile and most importantly always remember only you know what you have prepared for in your speech and the order of your statements – no one else knows so even if you miss a few lines of your draft – no one will ever be the wiser.