How to overcome the fear of public speaking
Alexandra Savina
The fear of public speaking is a very common phenomenon: it seems there is no such person who would not be worried reading a report or giving a presentation to colleagues. But this fear is quite realistic to win, and the most obvious introvert can become a good orator. We offer 10 life hacking, which will help to cope with the excitement and perform well.
Do not try to calm down
For those who are preparing for a public speech, it often seems that the main thing is to make yourself calm down by any means possible. But research data shows that this is not the most effective strategy: instead, you should openly admit that you are worried. Anxiety is a strong emotion, try to direct it in a positive direction and transform it into a joyful anticipation of a future event. The participants in the studies, who admitted that they were experiencing light but pleasant excitement, performed the tasks better than those who tried to force themselves to stop being nervous.
If you still can’t cope with anxiety, you can work out before a performance. Even a short workout will help to relax, let off steam and relieve nervous tension. The main thing to remember is that the audience is usually friendly and does not want you to fail: even if there are mistakes and shortcomings in your speech, the listeners will easily forgive them for you.
Know more about the subject than you are going to tell.
A tip that seems obvious: speaking to an audience is worth it if you are well versed in what you are talking about. We think that there is no need to explain that you need to prepare for a speech, and the content of your report is no less important than how you present it: frantically composing your speech on the night before the conference or meeting is not a good idea. If you understand well the topic on which you have to speak, and have studied not only the content of your report, but also additional materials, you will feel more confident in front of the audience, you will be able to speak more clearly, and most importantly, additional questions will not take you by surprise. This technique works well in an academic environment: if you start worrying, remember that very few people have studied the topic of your diploma, paper or dissertation as thoroughly as you yourself.
Rehearse
Long rehearsals are a guarantee of a good performance. Having repeated the report out loud many times, you willy-nilly learn its content and remember well what you need to say: after that you will be difficult to knock out. They say that Winston Churchill rehearsed every minute of his speeches for an hour - you may not need much time, but you will definitely feel more confident with each repetition. At the same time, there is no point in cramming a report: a memorized speech looks like a forced and unnatural one.
You can rehearse in front of a mirror, and you can record your performance on video - at least on a smartphone camera. Watching the resulting recording will be awkward at first, and maybe unpleasant, but it will help analyze how you speak and highlight what else you have to work on - including facial expressions, posture, gestures and how you hold on.
Shortly before the performance, you can rehearse before a group of friends and colleagues: it is likely that you will be nervous before this first “training” run, and by the very performance you will be calm. You should ask your friends or colleagues to ask you tricky questions - so you will understand that the audience may be interested and which topics should be studied in more detail, there is still time.
Do not read from the sheet and do not rely on notes.
Good speakers, as a rule, speak as if they did not prepare a speech in advance - but at the same time they clearly understand what needs to be said. It is believed that small notes help in the speech - but they can also confuse you and distract from the audience and their reactions. You can print the text of your speech, but it is better to use it only for safety. You should not read the entire text from the sheet: listeners may get bored, and you will look and feel less confident than if you would tell the information in your own words. The text should be clear to both you and the audience: the language that is well perceived in writing, the audience may not understand. Pay special attention to the beginning of the speech: this is the most difficult moment in your speech, and when you cope with it, you will feel much more confident.
In addition, it is important to work on the presentation, if available. The presentation should not completely duplicate the report that you are reading - the audience will simply be uninteresting to perceive the same information in a double volume. There should not be a lot of text on the slides - it is better to carry out capacious theses on them. This will help in your presentation: short hints will guide you on what and in what order to talk.
Work on speech speed, volume and articulation
It is very important to work on how fast you are talking. We tend to speak faster when we are worried, so if you think that you are reading the report at a normal pace, most likely you speak very quickly, and if you think that you speak too slowly, most likely this is the desired speed. . When you speak in a measured way, it is easier for you to control your speech and you have time to correct yourself if you made a mistake, or to promptly adjust your report to the audience's response — for example, by addressing the audience with a question.
Your performance will most likely interest the audience if you speak loudly and clearly. This skill is easy to build: you can record your performance on camera or voice recorder and analyze how you sound from the side and what can be improved. And of course, working on articulation is much easier if you already know your report by heart.
Watch your breathing and posture
“If you can control your breathing, you can control how you speak,” said coach Christine Schaeffer. In her opinion, confused or difficult breathing is a sign that you are worried, and your body has decided to respond to a stressful situation using the “fight or run” model. She says that shortly before the performance, it is worthwhile to follow the breath and breathe evenly and deeply: this will help to distract from disturbing thoughts and concentrate on what is happening here and now.
It is equally important to work on posture and gestures: it depends not only on how others perceive us, but also on how we ourselves perceive ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy, the author of the famous TED lecture, believes that the so-called power poses have an impact on us at both the neuroendocrine and behavioral levels. So, even if speaking, you do not feel confident, you should choose an open posture, relax your shoulders and arms - and as a result you will not only look calmer, but also feel more confident.
Inspect in advance the room where you will speak
It's great if you have the opportunity to rehearse in the hall where you should perform. If this is not an option, it will be useful to at least just see the right audience or room: it is much easier to read a speech in a familiar setting. Looking around the room, think about what difficulties may arise here (will the technician suddenly give up? Will you be hard of hearing in the back rows?) And how you can prevent them.
In addition, much easier to cope with anxiety, if they learn a little more about the audience, before which they have to speak. The more you know about your audience, the less it resembles an abstract crowd - and the easier it will be for you to change the material and manner of communication in accordance with its needs and interests.
Choose comfortable clothes and shoes
This advice seems obvious, but it's worth it to say it. For the performance, you need to choose clothes in which you will be comfortable: you will feel more comfortable in comfortable clothes and will be able to fully concentrate on your speech. It is better to abandon the new clothes and, in particular, shoes: just imagine how much more difficult it is to perform on the stage in shoes that rub the feet. It may be worth refusing from excessively bright decorations: they can distract the attention of listeners from your speech and the essence of your words.
Do not forget about the dress code: if your clothes match the place and theme of the performance, it will be easier for you to gain an audience. At the same time, don’t sacrifice your style, convenience or freedom of expression either: you will be more comfortable in wearing clothes that you like, so feel free to give up your heels if you get tired of them.
Make eye contact with the audience
Many, speaking in public, prefer to look into the distance, on top of the audience, but it is better to try to establish eye contact with the audience, looking into the eyes of one or the other person in the audience. Sandy Aifion-Jones, from Toastmasters International, which helps people sharpen their communication skills, suggests working out at home: cutting out several large faces from newspapers and magazines and sticking them around the room, and then, repeating a speech, looking from one person to another .
Another useful technique is to find a friendly-minded person in the audience (this could be, for example, a colleague with whom you are on good terms, a friend who came to listen to your report, or a stranger who was interested in the subject of your speech) to look at him and imagine that you are speaking only to him. Perhaps it will be noticeable from the outside - but it will be easier for you to relax.
Imagine the worst case scenario.
This advice is useful not only for preparing for public speaking, but also in any other stressful situation. If you cannot cope with anxiety and anxiety, imagine the worst case scenario. As soon as you imagine a concrete situation, you will almost certainly realize that everything is not as scary as it seemed, and that you can find a way out of any situation. It is worth thinking about what situations make you nervous and how you can cope with them - the feeling that you have a plan of action, even for the most difficult situation, will give you confidence.