Conquering The Fear of Speaking

What is one thing that is feared more than death? Public speaking. It is something that we all try as hard as possible to avoid at one point or another in our lives. Speaking in public is one of the most important tasks a leader is responsible for. Public speaking is undeniably important for anyone to have as a skill to some degree. So how do you avoid that panic before you get to the podium? There are several things to keep in mind.

Begin by reading more books. Reading is beneficial to your comprehensive skills and your speaking abilities. Reading an hour a day will increase your ability to speak fluently and clearly. This is crucial for public speakers. There is no point in speaking when the audience cannot understand the words given. Many public speaking coaches recommend reading book like “ The Secret” or any motivational or leadership book. This way you are gaining multiple skills at once. With better speaking skills, you will become more confident when talking and the fear of messing up will reduce.

Do not be selfish. You may be wondering why being afraid of public speaking is considered selfish. The reason is the thoughts of you during a speech. How you look, how you sound, and how you are talking. Instead of focusing on yourself. Focus on the audience. Think about the information that they need. Think about how important this information is. Think about how to encourage your audience. This way of thinking will take your worries off of you. It may seem like a challenge but this is possible. If you worry more on what they need to hear, then your focus will be in the right place, and you will produce one successful speech.

Never admit to being nervous. Keeping positive thoughts about what you do well is a trick to help avoid that fear right before the speech. The more you think about being nervous, the more you will be nervous. Say how confident you are. Even if you just say that you are confident about your topic and information, that can do attitude will increase your confidence so that you can get up in front of everyone with a head held high and a killer speech. Your mind is the only thing that will hold you back from doing well. So break the negative thought process.

Be prepared. You cannot go and give a speech without knowing what you are talking about (unless it is an on the spot speech). Make sure you get the facts, then double-check the facts! People who have an idea about your topic may go and do their own research. You want to be confident in what you are saying and be able to support the fact with evidence and sources. Being able to thoroughly discuss the information will cause your listeners to admire you. And that is nothing to complain about.

Above all, practice. Practice your entire speech. Practice the skills and advice just given to you. Practice in front of friends, family, or even a mirror. To help build up your confidence, start by practicing by yourself and speak aloud. Once you can do that, practice in front of a brother or sister, and slowly add-on to create a group of people you can give a speech to with confidence. Listen to all feedback and keep working on it until all of your fear has vanished. You can never practice your speech too much. The key to your speech is to never be afraid of it. Your speech is your own work; you should be nothing but proud of it when it is time.