Top 5 Tips For Overcoming The Fear Of Public Speaking
As a speaker it is sometimes easy for me to forget that there are still people who have a fear of public speaking. This is part of the reason why I established a consultancy arm to my business because I don't think people should have a fear of public speaking. So I present some Top 5 Tips for Overcoming The Fear of Public Speaking.
1) Rehearse. The more you know your speech or presentation the mor confident you will become. Have an idea of the direction and content that yiou want to convey and go over it again and again. Where are you more likely to get lost: going from your house to your local store or going from your house to somewhere you've never been before? You don't get lost going to your local store because it's a familiar journey that you've done many times before. The more familiar you are with your speech's "journey" the easier it will be to remember.
2) Breathe. You're probably thinking, "but breathe already". Yes, you're breahing otherwise you wouldn't be able to read this article. But when you get apprhensive or nervous your breahing patterns shifts. You will be shallow breathing from your chest. It's almost similar to panting and generally happens when you enter the "fight or flight" state. Try breathing from your belly. Breathe in and then out slowly. You may even find that your shoulders have risen up to your eyes through tension and you can drop those too.
3) Use a humorous line or "engagement" item. If you can make your audience laugh within the first 30 seconds they will relax and so will you. You don't have to be a comedian in order to do this. Find a funny line that relates to your speech. There are plenty of resources out there. I talk on my blog about one of my favourite funny resources. If you don't feel comfortable delivering the line attribute it to a comedian. For instance, "I was watching The Tonight Show recently and Jay Leno said..." and then deliver the line. It can be one of Jay's lines or not. If you attribute it to him your listeners may laugh more as they remember Leno's ability with a funny line. 4) Know your introduction. This relates to the first point. By knowing exactly how you're going to start you will feel more confident in the beginning and as a result your speech or presentation will flow more easily 5) You can appear confident. I remember many times when I used to perfomer stand-up comedy people would say to me how confident I looked on stage. Whereas, in reality I was extremely nervous. Due to the fact that a lot of people still find public speaking nerve-wrecking they will always admire the people who get up there and do it. If you have notes put them in a place where you can easily refer to them and they won't reveal your shaking hands. Also, try to give people as much eye contact as possible and look at different sides of your audience. I'd like to end with a paraphrased quote from the comedian George Burns: "public speaking's all about confidence. Once you've learned to fake that you've got it made." Jason Peck is a humorist, speaker and consultant and provides empowering speeches, valuable business training and morale-boosting entertainment to businesses, colleges and private functions. Check out his blog for a free pubic speaking e-course Pro Humorist
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