According to many researchers, public speaking is the number one fear in America! The fear of death is ranked number two. YES, we seem more afraid of public speaking than we are afraid of death, spiders or heights.
We feel exposed in front of an audience and we think people are going to reject us or judge everything we say and do.
Now, the good news is that we can reduce our public speaking anxiety (Glossophobia) and increase our confidence by avoiding some habits, while following some helpful tips.
The following are five tips to reducing public speaking nervousness and anxiety:
Don’t Seek Perfection
None of us are perfect. We all know that, yet when it comes to public speaking, some of us tend to highlight and maximize every little mistake we make. We focus on our imperfections, while ignoring all good things that we have done.
The thing is even the best speakers make many mistakes, but when they do, they just keep going smoothly.
Remember, the audience will never notice most of your mistakes, unless you forgot your speech completely or you confess them.
Being Nervous Is Ok
I noticed that if I felt completely fearless before a presentation or speech, I will not perform as well as if I had felt nervous, because simply I turn my nervousness into excitement and energy.
The audience wants you to succeed.
Time is valuable and the audience isn’t there to watch you fail, as that would be waste of their time.
Another thing, remember to tell yourself that “I am presenting to an audience that is here to learn from my experience and knowledge”. This will help you a lot.
Memorize Every Word Is Not Good
There’s no need to memorize every word of any speech. Attempting to do so will simply increase stress and anxiety in case you forgot some lines OR the sequence of the words you’re trying to memorize goes wrong.
Remember to be well prepared and enjoy the experience with the audience.
Speak, Don’t Read
There’s a big difference between reading and speaking. Speaking is creating an impact with your content and character, so that not only is your message understood, but also your professional presence and image rises.
Remember to set a road map and to speak from your heart.
At the end, I want you to be passionate, well prepared and Just be YOU, because YOU are awesome, and remember that public speaking is simply a skill that you can gain and become better at with practice and repetition.