Even if you overcame your fear of public speaking in school, sometimes there are situations when an upcoming presentation at work inspires excitement and anxiety. An unfamiliar audience, a large number of people, or a topic you're not too sure about are just the beginning of the list of factors that can make you nervous. However, if you follow a few simple rules shared by coaches and Elles Coach founders Laura Ortiz de Zarate and Leila Salamat, even the most intimidating performance can go just fine.
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“Fear of public speaking is an absolutely normal phenomenon that affects almost everyone. Fear can be caused by many reasons, such as appearing vulnerable and insecure. Moreover, some may feel very uncomfortable just talking in a small group. Fear is one of the basic human emotions, but it is important to learn not to succumb to psychological anxieties,” say Leila and Laura.
As experts note, managing your emotional state and controlling phobias is a skill that can be learned. You can even turn your fear of public speaking into an advantage—“a little fear and a little nervousness during a presentation can help you stay more alert and bring life to your presentation. It’s just important to find a balance.”
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Try to practice more
Every speaker needs to clearly understand that public speaking is a practical skill, like carving wood or driving a car. That is, it can be mastered through constant practical training.
That is why try to regularly find time and place to practice public debate. In fact, we have a lot of opportunities to practice. This can be done at meetings with friends, during family meals, at work in front of colleagues, and so on.
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The main thing is to have an irresistible need to become better and better. Then you yourself will not have time to notice how much your skills will improve.
Create a strong beginning and ending
The start sets the tone for the entire performance. You'll only have a few seconds to grab everyone's attention: if you don't captivate viewers right away, they'll be glued to their mobile phones. Try starting with an interesting statistic or a powerful quote. You can ask a rhetorical question or tell a compelling story related to the topic of the speech. It is advisable that this be a real incident that happened to you or someone you know, but if nothing comes to mind, feel free to fantasize - after all, absurd stories can be quite captivating.
The ending also needs to be well thought out: towards the end of the lecture, the audience’s attention will again reach its maximum. You can summarize your speech by repeating the main points, or save a surprising fact for closing. Another option is a mystery ending. Ask a question or show a photo at the beginning of your speech, and explain what you mean at the end.
Remember that you are not experiencing fear, but excitement.
One of the main life hacks for any anxiety event is to turn the feeling of fear into a state of excitement. This is done quite simply - through internal dialogue with yourself.
Understand that fear is the feeling we experience in front of something disgusting and destructive. For example, in front of armed robbers or sewer monsters. Meanwhile, public speaking is a performance that will help you convey your meaning to the audience, improve your speaking skills and earn people’s recognition. It's not scary, it's just exciting.
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By realizing this, you will be able to convert your so-called feeling of fear into excitement, which can energize rather than demoralize.
Make sure you don't look nervous
Speakers who watch videos of their speeches almost always say, “Wow, I don’t look nervous, even though I felt that way.” “Remember, the public doesn’t see how you feel. They just see how you look and act,” Price says. When, as a speaker, you speak calmly and confidently (or at least pretend that you feel that way), you earn yourself a lot of points: they believe you, the public likes you. “When you are able to control your nerves, take the microphone and create a connection with the audience, you increase your career opportunities many times over,” Price concludes.
Get inspired by examples of professional speakers
In oratory, as in any other activity, there are innovators and creators from whom we must take examples. To improve your public speaking skills, choose a few favorites and take a closer look at their style.
What they look like, what intonations they use, what they wear, and what polemical techniques they use to interact with the audience. If you want to become a professional in your field, be sure to analyze their work with the public.
Then you will have a clearer understanding of how you can influence your audience and achieve the desired effect.
A few days before the performance
Rehearse
It’s trite, but the main recommendation is to rehearse, rehearse and rehearse again. Experts confirm that responsible preparation is the key to successful public speaking. You can choose a convenient way for you to work out your future speech - rehearsing in front of a mirror, recording on a voice recorder or video. Pre-filming on camera is especially useful for those who are likely to be holding any objects during the performance - after watching the recording, you will be able to understand how to stand up correctly and what gestures are best to avoid.
Perform in front of friends
The second tip to help overcome the fear of public speaking: before going on stage, voice your speech to your acquaintances, relatives or friends. Imagine that they are your future audience.
Present your speech
During rehearsals, imagine that you have a microphone in your hands: how you hold it, what you do with your free hand, and what actions you will take if unexpected problems occur with the equipment.
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Calculate the time
Be sure to allocate how much time you will allocate for the greeting, introduction, body of the report and conclusion. “It is important to rehearse until you meet the allotted timing. Don't make your speech too short or long. In such cases, information should either be added or reduced. You need to learn how to manage your time, taking into account possible force majeure,” explain Leila and Laura.
Prepare a Plan B
Always think about what you will do if something goes wrong. “Save extra information at the end of your presentation so you can use it if you end up early. Or prepare questions that you can ask the audience,” experts recommend.
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Visualize
If you have a good visual memory, remember the flow of the speech through pictures. There is a special psychological technique that will help you better capture the key moments of your speech. “During your presentation, imagine that your speech is a tour of your own apartment. The beginning of the performance - you open the front door, the main part - you take off your outerwear, the conclusion - you go from the corridor to the living room. It is necessary to present your speech in the form of an excursion to a place that is known and safe for you,” experts advise.
See examples
Analyze how the presenters of a television program present this or that information. Study where they pause, increase their intonation, and change their delivery.
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Get exercise
To keep your verbal skills in good shape, don’t forget about physical exercise. After all, as you know, our cognitive abilities largely depend on the physiological parameters of the body, and not on the universal plan.
Get your blood pumping with jogging, exercise and exercise in the gym. Then it will circulate normally throughout your body and nourish your brain.
In addition, it would be a good idea for the speaker to maintain his physical fitness in order to create an impressive visual effect on the audience.
Immediately before the performance
Meditate
Take a few minutes to meditate. Experts recommend the Body Scan technique - exercises aimed at studying your body and focusing on breathing.
Regain your breath
Breathe deeply and exhale slowly.
Visualize the result
Think about how you will feel after the performance. Elles Coach specialists recommend visualizing a successful result and your feelings at this moment. “Imagine how you feel when you are preparing, how you stand on stage and what emotions you experience after a successful performance,” explain Leila and Laura.
Do a facial workout
Do an articulation warm-up for your lips, tongue and jaw.
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Take a confident posture
This is a fairly effective life hack that not everyone thinks of. If you stand in a confident position while performing, your body will radiate confidence on a physical level. Thus, the mind will follow, for which there will be nothing else left.
Many speakers also recommend not sitting during a speech in order to have the desired effect on the audience. The thing is that sitting is a passive position. Meanwhile, a standing position with a straight back and an elevated head conveys strength and authority, making a person feel more competent.
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At some points, you can also walk from side to side during a public speech. It is believed to calm the nerves.
“I prepared for so long, but I went out and forgot everything”
I often hear this from speakers. “It was only later that I realized that I should have said it like this.” What happened?
In a situation of stress, the focus of our attention shifts. We begin to feel sorry for ourselves , worry about how the audience will evaluate us, how we look, whether we have said everything in the text, why that person in the third row looks at us with contempt - although perhaps he just doesn’t see well.
We begin to pay attention to the “hostile” environment and look for confirmation that we are not very good now - instead of shifting the focus to the audience.
As soon as we withdraw into ourselves and start replaying in our heads “they will think or say something,” we lose contact with people.
Even when there are a hundred or two hundred people in the hall, they perceive themselves as one whole. And if I, as a spectator, see that the speaker is focused on himself - he hesitates, speaks in a trembling voice, looks at the floor, fiddles with his fingers and shows all the signs of his excitement - this begins to irritate me a little, and perhaps even anger me. If you're not ready, why did you come out? The logic is simple. A person reduces his own chances of performing well.
How to help yourself?
A change of focus will help. Remember the goal. Why did the audience come to listen to you? What do they need? Why are they interested in you?
Next , think about yourself: what motivated you to do this? Even if you were forced to go on stage, find something that interests you.
For example: While preparing, you found an interesting fact that you want to share. Let this be your mini-goal. Or you took courses in oratory and public speaking, and now you want to practice some technique.
Then you will not just transmit information, but begin to communicate and tell. And nothing that is excited or in a tight voice! People will receive this favorably and with gratitude, because in this case you are useful. And when it is not there, the situation develops in an unfavorable way.
Don't forget to take breaks
Every speaker needs to remember that during a speech it is very important to place intonation pauses, and not to rattle off a memorized text in order to pronounce it faster.
Moreover, intonation pauses not only help the audience process the information received, but also help you take a breath, collect your thoughts and continue the story.
How does fear of public speaking manifest itself?
The release of adrenaline into the blood is accompanied by a whole bunch of physiological reactions. The severity of symptoms depends on the level of stress:
- high pulse and blood pressure;
- severe fever or chills;
- increased sweating;
- tremor;
- “cotton” legs and arms;
- suffocation;
- nausea, upset stomach, bear sickness;
- voice problems up to complete disappearance;
- muscle spasms, unnatural gestures, facial expressions;
- "burning" or pale face;
- fits of laughter;
- fainting.
7. Smile
A positive approach will be useful not only during a speech, but also in any other circumstances. The thing is that a smile can increase the level of endorphins, as well as overcome anxiety and calm you down.
At the same time, it helps to gain confidence and win over the audience. The main thing is not to overdo it with a smile, otherwise it can give you a manic look.
Ask the audience
Image: Matej Kastelic / Shutterstock
Beginning speakers sometimes avoid making eye contact with the audience in hopes that it will reduce anxiety. In fact, everything is exactly the opposite: if you monitor the reaction of your listeners, you can notice whether they are interested in what you are telling, or whether everyone present is overcome by yawning. When a lecturer mumbles something monotonously under his breath and doesn’t even look into the audience, it can be difficult for the audience to concentrate on the speech.
Add questions to the audience in your speech so that those who come don’t get bored. If you are preparing a presentation, do not copy the text of your speech word for word onto the slides. Highlight the main points and make them the subject of discussion. Plus, if something goes wrong during your presentation, engaging your audience will give you time to think and solve the problem.
Think through answers to questions your audience might have, and keep material in reserve for when time runs out. It is important to consider what kind of audience you will be speaking to - the choice of vocabulary, the presence of jokes and much more depends on this. For example, if you are planning to give a lecture to teenagers, then it is better to explain the material in simple language, but in a professional community you don’t have to be shy: they will understand complex terms.
8. Always prepare well for performances.
Good preparation is the key to success. For those who want to figure out how to overcome anxiety before speaking in public, you need to first understand your material.
If there are no problems with this, the likelihood of failure is reduced significantly. A person who is confident in his words and actions is confident when conveying them to other people.
You need to remember this and always carefully prepare for a speech, working through individual remarks and writing down the main points.
Breathe deeper
When a person is anxious, their voice may sound uncertain because their breathing becomes shallow. Speaking in public in such a state is not the best idea, but if there is nowhere to go, you still have to pull yourself together. To relax and gain control over your anxiety, try breathing exercises.
For example, sit in a chair and inhale slowly through your nose. Your belly should inflate as you inhale. You can put your hand on it to make sure that it rises up with your stomach. Then exhale slowly - your hand should lower. Continue breathing like this for 10–15 minutes. And if you literally lose your voice from excitement, try yawning - only with all your heart, maybe even loudly and stretching. This practice can help relax the larynx before a long performance.
Find “your” people in the audience
Another interesting psychological life hack that many speakers use is to find “your” people in the audience and contact them at the right moments.
These people can be your acquaintances and friends, or completely random people who you just liked.
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This way, you can look at them from time to time, as if you were addressing them directly. This technique will not be noticeable in the audience, but the person you are addressing may catch your gaze.
All this is done in order to feel the non-verbal support of a person, which can give you confidence and enthusiasm.
When fear becomes a problem
Not being afraid of public speaking at all is bad, since excitement and adrenaline rush are indispensable companions of an interested, inspired speaker. Adrenaline “ignites” the speaker, helps to catch the right wave, and infects the audience with interest in the speech. No emotions - no fire. Strong emotions make us move forward. Excitement is a great motivation to prepare and give 100% in front of the audience.
Adrenaline is a stimulant for a speaker, but in too large doses it paralyzes a person and deprives him of his will. The degeneration of excitement into panic becomes a real problem that can ruin your career and damage your reputation, which is why it is so important to take control of the situation.
Why does anxiety occur?
Psychologists suggest that anxiety appears at the level of instincts, which are also complemented by the individual, personal characteristics of a person. Feeling varying degrees of anxiety is normal, provided there are no panic attacks, inappropriate behavior, or deterioration in physical well-being.
Anxiety is characteristic of every person, only its manifestation and root causes may be different. Most people are able to cope with this unpleasant condition, but those who cannot, need to reconsider the tactics used to calm them down.
How not to be afraid before going out
Control your breathing. In a confused rhythm, it will only fuel stress. Breathe deeply, calmly and evenly. Focus on alternating your inhalations and exhalations to prevent destructive thoughts from arising.
How to deal with panic that arises on the spot
- Find viewers who are as friendly as possible. Focus your attention on them.
- If you experience trembling or numbness in your limbs, imagine being doused with water, and then shake it off.
- Breathing has a calming effect. Take a deep breath and exhale long. Normalize your breathing rhythm.
What exactly scares us?
According to the study “Psychological Aspects of Preparation for Public Speaking in Sales and Marketing,” the fear of public speaking ranks second only to the fear of death—we are really afraid of speaking in front of people. So what is it that scares us so much?
- Fear of the unknown - we are afraid of uncertainty, we don’t want to leave our comfort zone.
- Fear of evaluation - when we speak in front of an audience, someone always evaluates us, and this is not pleasant for anyone. We are subconsciously afraid that we will be assessed poorly.
- Fear of unpleasant and incomprehensible conditions - we are used to sitting and working in the office, but when we go out and start talking about something in front of an audience, we find ourselves in conditions in which we are not accustomed to being.
Why do we worry before going on stage?
Everything is very simple. Speaking in front of an audience is stressful. A person on stage is under the gaze of many eyes, becomes the object of attention of a large number of people who examine, evaluate, compare, and draw certain conclusions.
It’s time to run, but you must open up, moreover, control the situation! There is a fear of the unknown, negative self-acceptance by everyone present, a fear of “getting lost” in front of a representative and demanding audience.
This psycho-emotional state is considered completely normal, and it is characteristic of every person. Only the degree of it may differ from mild excitement in some to a state of panic in others.
Work on the content of your speech
John Antonakis, a professor at the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne, found that audiences are 60% more accepting of speakers who use metaphors, comparisons and analogies in their speech. Consider whether there are difficult points or terms in your speech. How can they be explained quickly and simply? Practice creating metaphors—for example, take a list of difficult terms from your industry and try to explain them using similes to friends who work in a different industry.
When your speech captivates the audience, there will be no time for excitement, you will understand that you are in control of it, people are ready to listen to you.
