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Public Speaking: Embrace the Fear
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Public Speaking: Embrace the Fear

Summary:

Public speaking… most of us find it uncomfortable at best or absolutely terrifying at worst but unfortunately we all need to do it at some point. Lewis gives you his top tips which don’t involve imagining the audience naked (yuck)!

Written by Lewis Donaldson

Public speaking? Ewww. Why would you do that!?

It’s something many of us fear (maybe even despise). The fear even has its own name: Glossophobia, which affects up to 75% of us. Rapid heartbeat, shaky hands, sweating, nausea and even panic attacks. I’ve been there, done that (minus the panic attacks).

I’ve participated in my local Eisteddfod, Rotary and Lions club public speaking events, all with considerable success. As School Captain, I spoke in front of 400+ people each week, and now it’s something I enjoy.

You’ve probably had some experience too. Whether presenting in front of your class at school, or speaking at a family gathering.

But why should you ever consider public speaking?

Well, if you ever want to advance your career or expand your business, pitch an idea to your boss, seek a promotion or convince your colleagues or friends, knowing the skills that make a public speaker will get you there.

Here are some ways to nail your next speech, or at least inspire you to embrace your fear:

First, look at the reasons for your fear.

Is it because you don’t really know the speech? Are you afraid of being asked questions and not knowing the answer to them? Or is it because of the tens or hundreds of people that are watching and seemingly judging your every word, ready to laugh the moment you make a mistake?

By looking at the root causes, you can address your fear directly.

Don’t know your speech? Practice, practice, practice. Still unsure about that? Take the speech with you, with important words and lines bolded, highlighted or underlined. Afraid of losing where you’re up to whilst speaking? Increase the space between each line of text to make it easier to read, or you could keep track with your finger or a pen as you travel down the page.

Consider the crowd your cheer squad.

Is your audience the biggest concern? Don’t imagine them naked. That’s just weird. Instead, believe that they are there for you. That they want to listen and learn. They aren’t there to judge or laugh at you. They are there for support. Remember, just about everyone has a fear of public speaking, and you’ve taken the brave step to conquer that fear.

Presenting your speech.

This is the most important part. You can have something fantastic prepared and ready to share, but if you don’t engage, inspire or excite people, they’ll switch off.

Eye contact.

Not enough, you won’t come across as confident. Too much? A little creepy. Eye contact connects you to your audience. Just like when you’re
talking with a friend, it shows interest. Try and make eye contact with a few
people across the room for a second or so each. By doing this, you’re acknowledging their presence (and making sure they’re paying attention)!

Pauses.

Perhaps the most important part of the speech. If you’re anxious and
you don’t have them you’ll rush through the speech at lightning speed
because you want to get out of there but no one has understood or absorbed
the point you were trying to make because you were talking too fast and you
were running out of breath and stumbling over your words and even you don’t know what is going on because you’re freaking out… See? Pause. Take your time, and remember to breathe.

Sound.

How do you actually sound whilst presenting? Are you speaking in a
higher pitch because you’re nervous? Remember to emphasise important
words or lines, and you can lower your voice to get your audience’s attention.
If you sound the same the whole speech, your audience will lose focus.

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