|
According to The Book of Lists, the majority of people list public speaking as their number one fear. It outranks snakes, flying, even death! But we can’t always avoid it. Many of us are called upon to give reports at work, address the PTO or even give a toast at a wedding. How do you survive such an ordeal? Easily with a little time and practice.
The most important rule of public speaking is to know what you are talking about
It might seem silly to say but often speakers don’t have a clear idea of what they want to convey to their audience. You need to know exactly what you want your audience to come away with. Once you know, boil that down to three or four points and elaborate on just those points. You are not a human encyclopedia, too much information can be just a deadly as not enough while giving a speech.
Practice - but not too much
Work out what you are going to say and practice doing it out loud once or twice. It’s always a good idea to time a speech so that you know you will fill your allotted time slot but don’t run it into the ground. Very often spontaneous moments will occur during a speech that will surprise you and delight an audience. You never want to appear as if you’re doing a speech for the 1000th time, you will appear bored and uncaring to your audience.
It’s also a good idea to work out what you will wear. Make sure it’s something you feel comfortable in, something you can move in. Most importantly, make sure it’s something you know you look terrific in. Deciding what you will wear ahead of time will make you less nervous the day of the speech.
Be yourself
So many people feel they need to adopt another persona while speaking in front of an audience, it’s as if they feel they’re not important enough to hold an audience’s attention. Some speakers become stiff and deadly serious and forget that humor can be one of a speakers most important tools. Don’t just regurgitate facts - personal anecdotes and stories can be a wonderful way to reach out to an audience.
The audience is your friend
An audience is there, usually, because they care about what you are saying and want to hear you say it. They want you to do well. Don’t think of an audience as some sort of hostile block of humanity, think of an audience as a group of individuals. Try to make eye contact to one person at a time. Work with your audience using their responses to carry you through your speech.
You will live through this
I have never heard of anyone actually dying at the podium. You will also not throw up, lose your pants, forget your name or catch fire. These are all things that haunt anyone who has to go before a group of people. Performers call it the actor’s nightmare. It’s perfectly normal.
Use some relaxation techniques before you start
If you can find a place to be alone jump up and down or stomp each foot really hard. This will ground you and release tension.
Shake your hands and clench and unclench your fists. This will keep your hands from shaking too much. If trembling is really a problem hold onto index cards or the podium while you speak.
Stick out your tongue, open your eyes and your mouth as wide as you can, then scrunch your face into a tight ball. This will relax the muscles of your entire face.
Breath deeply and make a small humming sound on your exhale to warm up your voice.
Imagine yourself encased in a pink cloud. Nothing can harm you while you are in the middle of it. Try to hold onto this image while you are onstage.
It gets easier. The more public speaking you do the easier it will become. You may even discover you enjoy it!
| 
