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7 tips to conquer your fear of public speaking
Graham Hawkes
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7 tips to conquer your fear of public speaking

 

For so many business professionals, avoiding public speaking and still finding the success in business that they long for can be nearly impossible. Sometimes, you have to face your fears head on to get where you want to go. So here are seven tips to overcome your fear of public speaking.
 
1. Volunteer to speak. 

While this may sound counter-intuitive, volunteering to speak can help you to eliminate nerves in a number of ways. When you put yourself in the position of presenting, you replace the feelings of dread by putting the power in your hands. You asked to do this to improve your skills, you took the initiative, and you can do it. Volunteering to speak also gives you more opportunities to practice public speaking, which in turn can help you feel more natural with all eyes on you.

 

2. Practice, practice, practice. 

You never want to get up in front of a crowd without having rehearsed what you are going to say.  Write out your key points, bring notes to help back you up if you forget something, and relax. There’s no such thing as over preparing.  Even though I have been speaking for about 25 years, I always shut myself in a room and go through the whole speech complete with props at least three times. So by the time I come to present my speech, I am completely relaxed and able to ad-lib if I feel like it.  And if I forget where I am, I am completely at ease with acknowledging that, and getting on with the next point.

 

3. Focus on what you’re saying, not what the audience is doing

Audiences can be fairly distracting at times.  They may doze off, play with their phones, whisper to each other and more.  Just remember that they are the ones with the problem.  It is they who are lacking sleep, who are wedded to their phones, or just plain impolite.  For every ignoramus in the audience there are 99 others who are listening and interested in what you are saying.  You owe it to them to not become distracted.

 


4. Control your nerves. 

Keep your butterflies flying in formation.  It’s natural to have nerves, and without them, your presentation will lack something.  So a few simple precautions will help you to keep on top.  

Sometimes nerves can dry out your mouth and throat, leaving you feeling like you’re squeaking through your presentation. Bring water to help quench any pre-or-during presentation thirst, and avoid sugary drinks as they can have the adverse effect.
Don’t forget to breathe.  Sometimes a few deep breaths before taking the stage can help you to calm yourself to the point that you are feeling quite natural as you walk onto the stage.
After several presentations, I still use this technique because it sharpens me up when I take the lectern. 

 

5. Visual aids.

Less is more!  I have heard many speeches which have been dominated by PowerPoint presentations to the point where the presenter reads the whole speech from them.  Visual aids are exactly that – aids to the main event.  The audience has come to hear you speak – not to hear you read – see previous article on PowerPoint.

So keep it balanced and don’t use visual aids unless you can do that.

 

6. Get personal. 

Effective presentations often have the presenter connecting the material to something in their life that other people can relate to. Doing this can often get the attention off you and your nerves, and onto your topic by engaging them. It also helps you loosen up – sharing how your toddler helped you learn multi-tasking better than any seminar you’ve ever attended, (and here’s how), is surely going to have you more at ease than just talking about multi-tasking. 

 


7. Make the beginning and the end of your presentation stand out.
 

As the presenter, your first instinct is to worry that every second all eyes will be on you. In reality, many people in the audience will only remember the very beginning and the very end of your presentation, with only vague recollections of the points in the middle (few of those points being how you presented). 

So start with a strong opening statement, backed up with a few facts, and end with a summary of what you said and a strong call to action.  It always works and leaves a lasting impression.

 

Hopefully, these seven points will help you.  They are not exhaustive – in fact there are far too many points to cover in just few paragraphs.  But take them on board for now – they will certainly help you to make an impression and to get your points across.


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