Don’t Be Shy

I find it no surprise that public speaking tops the list of most common phobia.   The very thought of public speaking can result in feelings of anxiety and faced with the task of speaking in public your heart can race, your body shakes, you get sweaty palms etc. So how do you get past this and stop your public speaking phobia from holding you back. 

The best thing to do is…

Take your focus off yourself.   It is very hard to successfully think about two different things at once.  If I asked you to think of a large pink elephant with a yellow sunhat and matching shoes while also working out 689 + 445.  Can you do it?  You can think of both by switching between them but both at once?   This analogy is designed to illustrate that if you are thinking about something other than yourself, you will have trouble thinking about your own anxiety.   So if you are not going to think about yourself what can you think about? 

• > Think about your audience and their needs.  What can you do to best serve these?  How can you make your audience feel more comfortable and relaxed?  Asking yourself these questions changes your focus from you to your audience.  As you think of ideas to help your audience you will begin to feel more comfortable and in control of the situation.
• > Think about your environment.  Have a look around you, is there something that you can mention in your speech.  There may be something about the location that you can refer to or add into a story.  This can really add that extra punch to your speech or presentation.

And the Other Tips

• > Deep Breathes. Deep breathing is very powerful when you’re starting to feel anxious before speaking in public.   Several slow deep breaths can help you relax and feel more comfortable.
• > Remember the audience is on your side.   Public speaking anxiety can be reduced once you realize that the audience is on your side.  They want you to succeed.  Most of your audience also experience public speaking anxiety so they understand that it can be hard.  They are not sitting there waiting for you to fail. 
• > Be prepared.  Before any public speaking, learn who your audience will be, their age, demographic etc.  This way you can adjust your talk as required.  By knowing your audience and what is expected of you
• > Visualise Success.  Before public speaking take a moment to close your eyes and visualise the crowd smiling, visualise yourself standing and talking with confidence, visualise your smile as you finish and realise it was a success.  If you have never tried visualisation before don’t dismiss it as new-aged nonsense without giving it a try.  You will be pleasantly surprised.
• > Practice.   There are two parts to practice.  First practice what you are going to say.  Run through your speech or presentation a few times.  There is no need to memorize everything you are going to say, but some good advice from this site suggests that you know the opening and closing remarks well and use your notes for the rest.  The second part of practice is like many things the more practice or experience you have in public speaking the easier it becomes.  The anxiety you feel before speaking in public will reduce as your experience increases.
• > Remember mistakes are normal.  Everyone stumbles at some point while they speak.  One thing I have noticed is when I am listening and the speaker stumbles or loses their place for a second, it actually relaxes me as it remind me they are just human.  I am more than happy to accept that mistakes are normal and this person is just normal.  But when the person stumbling is me, I am less forgiving.  I need to remind myself that mistakes are normal and accepted, and then forgotten by your audience.

So when you  are next faced with having to give a speech or presentation remember you can overcome public speaking anxiety by relaxing with deep breathing, being well prepared, visualising success, accepting mistakes and taking time to practice.  But remember the best thing you can do to control anxiety is to take your focus off yourself.

If you are looking for more information on this topic this site has a detailed step by step guide for more effective speaking