7 Tips That Will Help You Overcome Your Public Speaking Fear (Glossophobia)

A lot of people fear speaking to big crowds, but this can be passed with enough training. I compare public speaking with mountain climbing, I had the same feeling when I was looking down the hill or at a big number of people watching my every move and listening to what I say. The fear of speaking in public is called glossophobia.

To have a good presentation and speech, you need to prepare every detail very well. 

Training is the key to a successful presentation or speech:

If you are at the first speech, it is important to prepare your speech thorough and consider every aspect. Compose your text by following a logical line of ideas, set out in advance some examples and stories that will help you sustain your opinions, and practice it out loud until you feel you master it. If it's a very important speech, you can record it yourself. The main reason for fear is that you do not know how you present yourself to the people.

When writing your speech, have the audience in mind - think about what the audience wants to listen to:

A bored audience will react badly and need to prevent this unpleasant moment. To do this, you need to focus on the main ideas the listeners want to hear for you and to try not to waste too much time. To keep the people captivated, you need to offer them what they want.

Follow other speakers:

If you have not spoken to an audience for a while and you feel slightly "rusty", train yourself by watching videos with TED. Imagine that you are in their place and try to relive the moment when everyone is watching you.

Considers the speech a role:

Speaking in public is a truly artistic show, and that's a good thing even though you're not an actor. Try to express only what you feel, because it is very hard to convince somebody to do something you don't believe in. If you manage to convince yourself 100% and believe in that thing, you will be able to convert the entire crowd.

Count on your strengths:

Play your cards well. In this case, exploit and use your abilities to create an advantage with them. If you have a sense of natural humor, use it. If you are not very funny, do not try to make jokes just at the critical moment. Better say an interesting story you only know about the topic of the meeting.

Go to the room where you are going to have the speech:

If you have the opportunity, visit the place where you are going to talk. Exercise the prepared text, sitting in the place where you will present it, and try to imagine instead of empty rows the crowd. This practice is even used by musicians before concerts and helps you diminish the fear you feel before speaking in public.

Make a recording of yourself so that you may learn how to speak clearly:

Make a video or audio recording of your speech. From beginning to conclusion, record yourself making the speech. Then listen to or watch it again, making notes on how you may improve it. Some individuals dislike hearing their voice on tape, so you must get used to it.

Improve Your Breathing:

Your voice will have greater resonance and you will relax if you concentrate on your breathing. Calmly breathe and concentrate on getting into a rhythm. Despite the fact that this is a public speaking practice, breathing exercises may help you decrease tension and increase clarity in any situation.

I hope this material helps you on your mission of becoming a valuable public speaker.

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