Do You Still Feel Nervous? Overcoming Public speaking anxiety
If you have watched the award-winning movie entitled The King’s Speech, you will definitely have an idea of how it’s like to suffer from public speaking anxiety. This is a very common problem that is experienced by millions of people all around the world. It’s not every day that we are given the chance to speak in front of a large audience and this could be the reason why many people fear public speaking. Nonetheless, overcoming anxiety in public speaking can be easy. With the right knowledge and determination to cope with it, you will certainly find yourself speaking in front of the crowd confidently.
By reaching this page, it’s most probably that you are suffering from fear of public speaking. But no matter how you avoid it, there will come a time that you would have to stand up and deliver a speech in front of many people. It may be sooner – you’ll never know. Many studies have shown that people with anxiety disorder have one thing in common – they all experience public speaking anxiety. The symptoms include shaking, sweating, cold hands, rapid heartbeat, ‘butterflies on the stomach’, and very discomforting feelings.
Building Your Confidence
If you have the fear of speaking in public, there are plenty of things that you can do to get over it. All of them are centered on building your confidence. You see, confidence gives you the energy to do better. It gives you the courage to voice out your opinion in front of the discriminating minds of the public. It’s worth-knowing that having strong self-esteem is the key towards conquering public speaking anxiety. When you have faith in yourself, when you believe in what you can do, speaking in front of many people will never be a problem. Of course, it’s natural that you feel nervous at the beginning of your speech. You’re still trying to connect with your listeners and you’re still establishing your personality. But the moment you get used to what you’re saying, you should not feel anxious at all.
But if the anxiety wouldn’t go away, that’s the time you start developing your communications skills. Here are some things you can do to overcome public speaking anxiety and impress your audience with your convincing speech:
· Familiarize yourself with the topic. Aside from getting familiar with your speech, you also need to connect with the topic you will be discussing. It’s not enough that you know it. You should know more about it. Remember that your listeners expect too much from you. They expect that you know the topic more than they do. They expect that you are an expert on the subject matter. This is the initial step in overcoming public speaking anxiety. Familiarizing the topic of your speech will boost your confidence in the sense that you are gaining mastery over it. The more you know, the more you can tell. Even if you forgot something on the speech, you can easily insert an adlib. You see, if you just memorized the piece, it’ll be difficult for you to patch up the missing lines if you don’t have enough awareness about it.
· Learn some relaxation techniques. The way your body reacts towards nervousness and tension can affect your performance as you deliver your speech. One way to conquer public speaking anxiety is to allow your body to calm down. The moment you step on the stage, you will feel the anxiety. But there’s something you can do to minimize it. Practicing relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises can help reduce the anxiety symptoms. When you breathe deeply, you allow the oxygen to flow properly through your body. Once this happens, your muscles will get more relaxed, your heart will beat normally, and you will not experience shortness of breath.
· Practice makes perfect. This is an old cliché but it is very much applicable to public speaking anxiety. When you know just exactly what to say, you can deliver the speech no matter how nervous you are. It’s helpful if you can determine your mastery skills. If it usually takes more than a week for you to master your speech, then give it enough time. Every day, practice in front of the mirror. Be the speaker as well as the listener. Criticize your performance. Look for your weak points and your strengths. Practice and practice and practice until you master your piece.
· Take some notes. It’s not a good idea to jot down the entire speech on a sheet of paper and bring it with you on stage. It will just confine you to the words that are written on the paper and you will not be able to insert some ideas you find more appropriate and helpful to your listeners. Taking down notes can prevent the occurrence of your public speaking anxiety. A better way to remember the points for discussion is to write down some keywords and short description of the concepts or ideas you will be talking about. You can write them down on small index cards. So if ever you forget something to discuss, you can take a quick look at it without having to stray away from your audience.
· Get a feel of the venue. Make it a habit to arrive early during speaking engagements. This will allow you to get a feel of the venue. To alleviate public speaking anxiety, you need to be comfortable with the place. Imagine yourself speaking in front of the audience. Know where to look and how you will do your gestures. Practice at least once or twice in the same venue where you will deliver your speech.
· Prepare some jokes. Humor is what makes every public speaking activity more exciting. An average person has 10 minutes of attentive listening skills. This is the period of time when your audience is very eager to listen to every word you are saying. After this, they will start to get a little bored no matter how interesting your discussion is. When your audience gets bored, you’ll feel anxious and you might experience public speaking anxiety again. So, make sure you have something to bring it on! Crack some jokes once in a while. This will not just reduce your anxiety in public speaking but will also make you more comfortable with your speech.
Do You Still Feel Nervous?
Even the best speakers in the world felt anxious when speaking in front of people. So don’t expect that after reading this article, you will totally lose your public speaking anxiety. Overcoming anxiety is something that you can’t achieve overnight. It takes time and hard work. You will become a better speaker soon. Just continue following these tips. Be confident and know that you can do it because you really can!