How To Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking
To beat the fear of public speaking use the following Five “P’s”…
1. Preparation
Prepare yourself thoroughly for your speaking engagement. To begin with understand your audience and just what they expect. Who are they, their age etc? This will help when deciding upon your topic. Meet up with some of them beforehand as it is easier to deliver a speech to people ahead of time.
Pick a subject that will interest the audience and will be worthwhile to them. Research your subject thoroughly. Your main resource should be your own individual knowledge and after that read up on subject. Good research can make creating and preparing your speech a lot easier. When you are beginning it is better for you to write the speech out word for word. If you will read your speech, ensure it is created in spoken English.
The more diligently that you’re well prepared the more self-confident you’ll feel. .
2. Passion
Pick a subject that you are interested in and will interest your audience. Your passion for the topic you’re presenting will always make it easier for you to speak on the topic and that enthusiasm is infectious. Also, you will have discussed this topic before and when you are presenting you’ll simply be extending the conversation.
3. Positive
Visualize a positive final result. Create a brilliant picture in your mind of a successful speech and keep focussed on it. Just before you go on stage to present take many deep breaths to calm the nerves and really go overboard with your positive self-talk. Explain to yourself how wonderful you are. Your audience will respond well to your confident demeanour as you approach the stage and begin to speak.
4. Practice
Practice is of primary importance in making confidence. Practice as often as you can facing a mirror and in front of your friends and family. Re-write the speech to make it easier to read and to make it more conversational. If you are going to be reading your speech, practice the tone and pace of your speaking. Raise your face upwards from the page. Practice until you’re comfortable with the speech.
5. Persistence
Once you’ve taken your first step, the best way to overcome public speaking fear is always to keep on undergoing it. George Bernard Shaw used this method to overcome his public speaking fear. To improve on his technique, develop a short speech and deliver it frequently.
In summary the dread of speaking in public is a normal fear, but it has been learned and can be overcome by using the 5 “P”s. The benefits are there to be claimed by you in taking the steps to benefit your audience.
I got over my fear of public speaking by using an online course to guide me step-by-step through the process.
Processing your request, Please wait....
