How to deal with fear of public speaking is considered by most of us as the hardest thing to deal with because this is the fear that we alone do inflict on ourselves. However, as we always say, fear is only in the state of mind so fear in public speaking is nevertheless a manageable state.
We have two options when dealing with the fright on speaking to the public. Either we run or we face it. If we shy away from people, we can never be able to achieve our goals to be effective public speakers. But if we learn how to deal with the nerves, getting to be an accomplished speaker can be one of the greatest accomplishments we can achieve for ourselves.
So here is the deal now, we can teach you steps on how to deal with your fear of public speaking and then try to develop you skills further by practicing so that one day you can find yourself facing and talking to your audience full of ideas and confidence.
Basic Steps to Become an Effective Public Speaker:
Always be prepared whenever you are tasked to speak in public. Preparation is the key to arm yourself to become more confident, skillful and better in public speaking. The better you are prepared the less nervous you can become. You can practice alone. You can create a presentation, face the mirror and say your piece. While delivering your speech, watch your hands, facial expression and your head. This is how you project yourself in front of many people. When you are familiar with practicing alone you can become more prepared by practicing with actual people. You can make your friends or relatives as your audience and use a microphone to feel your words. After your short speech, ask for your audience's observations. You can use their suggestions to improve yourself.
Use visualization technique. Whenever you practice your speech alone, you can imagine yourself speaking in front of a crowd. You can choose the crowd in your mind which most likely would be your actual audience.
Dress for the occasion. When it will be the time to deliver your actual speech, you must always dress for the event that so that your looks can help you deliver your message. You must not overstate your clothes but avoid wearing too simple outfit. Remember that your audience must see you as someone with an authority and has the power to address them. Dressing right is essential because it can give you the feeling of confidence and authority as well.
Examining the venue. Always try to arrive earlier to feel your speaking venue and observe its space accordingly. You can acquaint yourself with the lighting, audio and the gears which you will use.
Relax yourself. Practice deep breathing and relax your mind as you wait for your audience. You can drink a cup of herb tea and talk to people around. Avoid coffee by the way. This can make you feel more anxious. You can also walk around and exert some energy to release the tension that is building up inside you.
When your audience starts to congregate, examine them carefully. You can chat to some of the people you know or better yet approach a group who recognize you. Talking to familiar people who are among the audience can help you feel you are not alone.
As you wait for your turn to speak, take deep relaxing breaths. If you get nervous, you tend to accumulate oxygen in your brain thus you must release the tension to loosen the grip inside you. And when doing your speech, try to draw a deep breath silently for every long phrase you say.
You can also throw a joke sometimes. If you know some jokes that you are sure can draw laughter from the crowd, say it but say it right. Laughter from the crowd can also be the antidote for your wrecking nerves.
You can use bodily or hand motion to stress your point. This can also release the tension that is gripping your breath. Also moving about and moving your body as you speak can also make you feel relaxed and can create an air of confidence.
Look into the eyes of your audience. You don't have to look intently at the eyes of a single person because this can make you more nervous. Instead, you look at one person's eyes then turn your sight to the crowd as if you are just talking to people familiar to you.
Don't be too overly anxious in what you say. If you feel that tension is holding you down, you can always take a deep breath and drink some water to cool yourself up. Don't apologize if you stutter because this can also make you more anxious. Just say whatever you say and see your audience as people you have already met.
Feeling the nerves or becoming extremely shy in facing a crowd is just a normal reaction. Even professional public speakers do experience the nerves sometimes. But anyone can be able to learn how to deal with fear of public speaking through constant practice, actual exposures and if you have the motivation to become an effective public speaker, you can really succeed.
