I have been doing motivational and inspirational speaking for so many years. Over time, I have witnessed how people embraced and rejected the concept of public speaking.
There are people who finds public speaking such a delight. They are passionate about it. It is something that they love to do. They get their happiness and satisfaction seeing how they inspire and motivate people with their gift.
However, often times, one of the things people fear the most is speaking in public. Whether it is before a large audience or in an intimate gathering, the thought of speaking before a crowd brings jitters.
Did you know that “speaking is a learnable skill.” Yes it is! You just need to equip yourself with the proper attitude and tools and before you know it, that stage fright is gone. Here are simple tips:
- Be prepared and organized:
Gather your thoughts and familiarize yourself with the topic. Know everything you need to know about the topic and practice, practice practice. “Practice makes perfect” may sound as a cliche but true. One of the best way to prepare is to practice. As you practice, you get more and more familiar with the topic and everything would eventually come out naturally.
- Be positive
Anxiety is the culprit on why people fear speaking before a crowd. Even before you do the act, you already hound yourself with so many unnecessary concerns. What if the audience won’t like my talk? What if I am not able to present it well? What if I am not able to answer their questions? STOP! Do not let the “what ifs” kill you. This two letter word – IF – is baseless and more often a product of emotions.
Remember, you practiced for it. You prepared for it. You are good to go.
- Focus
One of the mistakes people make when speaking in public is they focus too much on the audience rather than the material.
They are so concerned with pleasing their audience to the point of overlooking the most important aspect of their talk – the content.
Bear in mind that your audience came to listen to you because they want to learn. They do not know much about the topic you will talk about, thus, they want to increase that learning through your talk.
Shift your focus. Concentrate on your material. That is what they came and paid for. The speaker is just the medium.
- Believe in yourself
It all starts with YOU. Bring out that innate feeling of ” I can do it.” All fears and anxieties will be eliminated if you believe in yourself.
Speaking is a learnable skill. Keep on learning. Keep on improving. Take that bold step and conquer your fears.
