How to Speak Fluently in Public?
You stand behind the curtain and are about to step onto the stage in front of many people. With every step you take, you feel your body heavier and hear the sound of your heartbeat. Don't worry, you're not the only one with speech phobia, also known as speech anxiety or the fear of talking to large crowds. Sometimes, anxiety happens even long before you're on the stand.
What happens is that your body's defense mechanism responds by stimulating a part of your brain to release adrenaline into your blood - the same chemical that is released when a lion is chasing you. Here are step-by-step tips to help you overcome your fear of public speaking.
Tips to help you overcome your fear of public speaking:
1. Prepare yourself mentally and psychologically:
We are keen to show anxiety and recognize it when it appears in others. If your body and mind are worried, your audience will notice it, so it is essential to prepare before the presentation until you reach the stage confident in yourself, calm, and ready.
Bob Proctor, a Canadian philosopher and author of You Were Born Rich, said: “Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world, and what happens inside you comes out.”
Light exercise before the presentation helps stimulate blood circulation and deliver oxygen to the brain. On the other hand, mental exercise helps calm the mind and nerves. Here are some things you can do to prepare psychologically and physically before the speech:
1.1. Warm-up:
Warming up is a helpful way to calm you down when you're stressed, so if you're stressed, your body will also be stressed. Your muscles will cramp or sweat, and the audience will notice you're stressed. If you notice that it is precisely what happens to you minutes before the speech, do stretching exercises to relax your body.
It is helpful to warm up before each speech, as it increases the body's functional capabilities and muscle efficiency and improves your response and movements. Here are some relaxation exercises to do before the presentation:
- Rotating the neck and shoulders, as tension and anxiety can cause contractions in this area, which makes you feel uncomfortable, especially in a standing position. This exercise relieves stress and pressure in the upper body and focuses on rotating the head and shoulders, which leads to muscle relaxation.
- We often use this part of our muscles when speaking or presenting through hand gestures and movements. Stretching these muscles can reduce arm fatigue, make you feel relaxed, and improve body language.
- Rotate the waist, place your hands around your waist, and move it in a circular motion. This exercise focuses on relaxing the abdominal area and the lower back, which is necessary because the spasm in this area can cause discomfort and pain and worsen the sense of anxiety.
1.2. Keep your body hydrated:
Have you ever felt thirsty seconds before you spoke, and your voice sounded hoarse and coarse after you walked to the stage? This is because the adrenaline secreted by the phobia of standing on the platform leads to dry mouth.
To avoid this, it is necessary to keep your body hydrated before delivering the speech; a sip of water will do the trick. You should also drink in moderation so that you do not feel an urgent need to enter the bathroom and try to avoid sugary drinks and caffeine because they are diuretics, which means that you will feel thirsty, which in turn will increase your anxiety.
1.3. Meditation:
Meditation is known as a powerful tool to calm the mind. ABC talk show host Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier, says meditation can help people feel noticeably calmer.
Meditating as an exercise in your mind gives you the strength and focus on clearing your mind of negativity and distraction, all through words of encouragement and confidence, so mindfulness meditation is a common way to calm yourself before taking the stage.
Meditation involves sitting in a comfortable position, focusing on breathing, and then concentrating on the present without worrying about the past and the future, which are fears that will confuse you on the stage.
2. Focus on your goal:
One of the main things in people who are afraid to speak in public is to focus too much on themselves and the possibility of failure, so don't ask yourself, “Do I look nice?” And, "What if I don't remember what to say?" Focus on your only real goal, which is to deliver something of value to the audience.
Determine what progress you want your audience to make after your presentation, and note their movements and expressions towards your speech to make sure they are listening. If your focus could be more effective during the letter, make it so, and this is also key to building confidence during the presentation, where the audience can see that you care about their interest.
3. Think positively and stay away from negativity:
There are two sides to each of us, one full of courage and strength, the other full of suspicion and insecurity. You have the option to strengthen one at the expense of the other.
For example, if you ask yourself: “What if I make a mistake in this speech? What if I'm not accepted enough? What if I forget what I want to say? ” don't be surprised by how nervous you feel when you make an offer. You frustrate yourself before you get a chance to prove yourself.
This is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy, a belief that comes true because we act as if it were a reality. If you believe you are incompetent, it will eventually become true.
Motivational coaches say that positive and encouraging phrases boost your self-confidence in the most critical moments, so tell yourself, “I will make this speech, and I can succeed,” and take advantage of your adrenaline rush to strengthen your positive side rather than the negative thinking that leads to anxiety.
4. Understand the content of the speech:
Knowing the content of the speech helps you reduce stress because there is nothing left to worry about, and the way to achieve this is to practice the speech several times before the actual letter.
But it is not advisable to memorize the text literally. You may panic if you forget something about it. In addition, it puts you at risk of appearing like an arrogant person who is hard to communicate with.
Bob Proctor says, “No amount of reading or memorization will make you successful in life; understanding and applying wise thought is important.” So, many people make a mistake when they read from a speech sheet or memorize a text verbatim without understanding its content, which makes them nervous.
Understanding the context and content of the speech makes it easier for you to express your ideas and concepts in your own words and then explain them to others as if you are conducting a talk, and designing the speech paper to include reminder signs is an easy way to ensure that the context is remembered, in case it is forgotten.
One way to understand is to memorize the overarching concepts or ideas in the presentation. It will make you sound more natural in your speech and shine as if you are taking your audience on a journey with some essential landmarks.
5. Practice before boarding:
Many of us are only willing to speak sometimes in front of an audience, which is the case for most people. People rarely stand before a large audience and make flawless presentations without preparation. In contrast, some senior speakers make it seem easy because they have spent countless hours of serious training behind the scenes.
Even senior speakers, such as the late US President John F. Kennedy, spent months preparing their speeches because, like any other skill, public speaking requires practice, whether it's practicing several times in front of a mirror or taking notes, and as the saying goes: "Practice makes perfect."
6. Do not pretend:
Feeling nervous before going up to public speaking is not a shame where many people get nervous about public speaking because they fear being judged for showing their weaknesses and the truth of their character.
So, stop trying to imitate someone in their behavior and speech, and you will discover that it is worth the risk, and become more genuine, flexible, and spontaneous, which makes it easier for you to deal with sudden situations, whether it is an unexpected question from the audience or an urgent technical problem.
Discovering your true speaking style is as easy as picking out a topic or issue that excites you and discussing it as if you were doing it with family or a close friend. It's like having a personal conversation between you and someone else.
And a great way to do this on stage is to choose an individual rather than a selector from the audience and speak as if you were directing the conversation to them. You will see that this method is easier than trying to communicate with the entire audience.
Feeling comfortable being yourself in front of others may take time and some experience, depending on how comfortable you are with being yourself in front of them. Still, when you follow this method regularly, the phobia of standing on the platform will be more manageable than you first thought.
7. Evaluate your speech after it has been delivered:
If you make a speech and are shocked by its poor results, try to look at it as a lesson learned to improve yourself as a speaker, and stick to the following two observations:
7.1. Do not reproach yourself after the speech:
When you finish your presentation or speech, give yourself some appreciation and support. You have completed what you must do, have not given up, and have not allowed your fears to control you, so cherish your work and trust yourself.
7.2. Improve your next letter:
If you want to improve your public speaking skills, ask someone to film you giving a speech, then watch and see what you can do to improve yourself next time. Here are some questions to ask yourself after each speech:
- How have I been?
- Do I have to improve some points?
- Did I seem nervous?
- Did I stutter? And why?
- Was I stopping too much?
- What was the context of the speech?
Write down everything you've observed, and keep training and improving. Over time, you'll be able to address your fears of public speaking better and look more confident.