How to overcome the fear of public speaking?

Posted by jaques montegolifier on March 13th, 2021

Being nervous during public speaking is expected. It goes to show that you care about the cause you are addressing. It becomes terrifying when this fear takes over and starts affecting your self-esteem. It is known as glossophobia. We all have been through this at some point. Feeling jittery, stomach forming knots, and throat running dry is what we experience at the time.

A perfectly well-prepared speech can get hampered due to this. So, what is the solution? Can you get past it? With a little effort and time, you definitely can. Here are a few tips to help you overcome the fear of public speaking: 

Have a good start: The first few minutes build the rapport between you and the audience. Working on that sets the mood. If you sail through it, your confidence gets restored. Start your speech with something interesting to engage people. You could use a story, share an incident, or make up a scenario fitting your topic. It will help you get comfortable and ease into the presentation. Seeing the engaging faces calms your nerves.

Benefit from your nerves: Being nervous is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a form of adrenaline rush that, if used correctly, can give a positive outcome. You can channelize your nerves and convert them into excitement. You do this by not overthinking your mistakes and continuing with your speech nevertheless. Your mistakes become unnoticeable when you do not dwell on them. 

Practice until confident: Rightly said, "practice makes perfect". Keep preparing until you feel there is no scope for errors. Often, lack of practice results in losing confidence. Hence, invest in practice. It is the only way to help you prepare with your material. The key is not to memorize and relay but to understand and convey.

Get trained: There are specialized coaching available for you to learn to communicate in public effectively. You can enrol yourself in it. It not only helps you learn but also boosts confidence. You get to see other people on the same page as you and grow together. You can get into a communication skills training program. These programs work on improving your overall communication and boost confidence.

It is an entirely normal fear that we all have faced. You must work towards improving it. It is the only way of overcoming the fright of public speaking.