A Guide to Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking

I've heard all the standard public speaking techniques, such as making eye contact with the audience, planning a speech, practicing, speaking loudly and standing up straight. While they are valuable techniques, none of them address the real problem behind my presentation. Namely, my fear of failure and the extreme nervousness I experience when standing in front of a crowd.

I'm sure you can understand what I mean by nervousness. Even if you're Tony Robbins or a public speaking expert, at some point in your life you'll get nervous giving a speech. I used to hate public speaking. I would get so nervous that I would only hear my heart pounding out of my chest, and the only thing I could feel was my stomach tightening as I wiped my sweaty palms with my pants. In the past, I dealt with this fear by avoiding being in front of people as much as possible. But I've learned since then that the best way to deal with any fear is to face it. I began to look outside myself, and then learned and tested various techniques for coping with fear. I began to practice how to give a good speech. In my experiment,

I'm not an expert in public speaking, but I'm an avid student of the subject. I have spoken at universities on Amazon.com recruiting trips and on various topics within the company. This is my testing ground for the techniques explained below. I'm still learning, just like you are. I hope you found these tips useful in preparing and delivering your next presentation.

1. Focus on creating value, not yourself

I think the number one reason we get nervous when giving a speech is because we focus too much on ourselves. We begin to worry about how we look to others and what they will think of us. We try not to look stupid, and in the process, this makes us even more nervous, thus making us look "stupid." When we think about appearing incompetent, we fear it even more, until all our thoughts are associated with fear. When we experience the failure we fear, it creates a downward spiral and a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Focus on the goal while preparing your speech; Why your speech will be useful to your audience. Change your focus by asking yourself the following questions:

What value am I providing to the audience?

What was the most important thing they took away from my presentation?

How will the conversation/topic benefit them?

I think these are the most important questions for the following reasons:

If we're not providing value, then we're just wasting our time. Time for ourselves and the audience.

You will have a clear demonstration goal. With a goal in mind, you should know what words to use and what pictures to draw. The result will be a simple, cohesive and comprehensive presentation design and delivery.

You will see your presentation through the eyes of the person sitting in the chair listening, not the person speaking. Many presentations are presenter centric because it is easy to do this when designing a presentation without thinking about the end user/audience.

When presenting, focus all your attention on conveying that value to your audience. Since we can only focus on one thing at a time, we can't simultaneously focus on delivering the best presentation and worrying about what others think of us. Focus entirely on providing value to your audience and do so with your entire life. This will shift your focus from yourself to giving your audience something of value. In doing so, you will see your worries reduced.

2. Visualization and affirmation

We get nervous when we think of ourselves as a public loser. Our minds are filled with this unpleasant, mind-created, horrible image of ourselves. Instead, fill your mind with visions of success, confidence, and happiness.

Visualization:

On the morning of the presentation, take 5-15 minutes to calm your mind and focus. In the meantime, you can try the following visualization exercise.

Stay in a comfortable place and not be disturbed. Turn off your phone.

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing for a minute or so. Breathe deeply and slowly.

See yourself as an imaginary third party. (I recommend thinking of yourself as the camera on the ground and looking up at you. This creates an image of strength and power.)

In this image, look at yourself with complete confidence, power, charm and personal power. I saw myself standing tall and strong.

Imagine yourself giving a presentation. To see myself walking in, to see myself smiling at the people in the room. Feel the confident energy emanating from your smile and voice. Look at yourself at the front of the room with a bunch of people smiling at you. Feel your inner energy pumping and be ready to deliver a great speech to this eager audience.

See yourself giving a great presentation under the most ideal circumstances. See your inner confidence and express your thoughts to the audience.

Look at yourself after your speech. "It was easier than I thought! You say to yourself. Look at the positive impact you had after the presentation.

Positive self-affirmation is a powerful confidence booster. When you create an affirmation, you are offering positive advice to your subconscious mind so that your mind is filled with a positive image of yourself. I practice writing self-affirmations in particularly stressful situations. If you haven't tried to create a positive image of yourself, you'll think this sounds ridiculous. In essence, you are tricking your subconscious into believing that you feel differently than you do now. What you need to understand is that you are who you believe you are. Once you've released the possibility that imagining your self-affirmation doesn't work, and you believe that you are who you want to be, then you'll understand. Until you believe these affirmations, repeat them over and over again and your mind will begin to believe it. This belief in yourself will help you in situations where confidence is needed.

Declaration:

Write down a series of positive statements that apply to your speech, build your self-image and confidence. Here are some examples to get you started:

I am an excellent speaker and I give engaging speeches.

I am confident and strong.

I create great value for others.

I am an exceptional person.

My job is important. People depend on me for excellence.

I kick my butt. :)

Repeat these statements as loudly as you can. It's important to get them to say it out loud, but if you really can't, put it into words in your head. I once repeated a similar affirmation to myself in the morning as I prepared for a sales meeting in the car I was driving to. I sell very well. That's when I really learned about the power of affirmation.

Write them down on paper and print them out, or tape them to the wall. I've seen some people put these on their bathroom mirrors, so it's the first thing they see in the morning. I posted some of my most influential personal statements on the wall across from my bed so that I could see and be reminded of them every day.

3. Acknowledge your fears

As with overcoming any negative emotion, one of the most effective techniques I've found is to fully face your emotions. Acknowledge your fear by fully feeling what it feels like. Be an observer of that emotion, let it flow and see where that emotion comes from. As you watch it and let it happen, you will feel less and less fear.

See the following articles on this topic:

See # 1 under 9 Ways to Overcome Jealousy

How do you conquer your fear

4. "Fake it till You make it"

Choose a mentor, someone who inspires you and is good at speaking. You do not have to know or have a personal relationship with this person. Anyone you admire who embodies the skills you want. For this, I like to use Tony Robbins or my friend Richard Greene.

Once you think of a mentor, put yourself in their shoes and see the world through their eyes. Imagine that you are this person.

Ask yourself:

What would [the instructor] do in this situation?

How will [the instructor] bring this up?

How will [the mentor] engage the audience at this point?

Carrying their energy, how will they present themselves in this situation? Whenever I try this technique, I feel like a wave of energy comes over me, and I notice that I can get my point across very quickly and clearly.

5. Authenticity

Be yourself. Be honest, be pure, be open, show your weaknesses. Share your thoughts with your audience, even if it sounds awkward. This will have a lovely quality that touches your audience's heart, which will help your audience understand you. I once saw a girl who was speaking in a timed presentation, and she messed up the timing of the automatic slide show. She was very embarrassed. She talked about how embarrassed she was and tried very hard to move on. The whole audience sympathized with her and supported her success. When we see a person's true qualities, we can't help but connect with that person on a human emotional level. You become friends without being formally introduced.

Live in the moment and let your self-expression flow freely in that moment. Express yourself beautifully, completely and naturally. Instead of focusing on being yourself, you will naturally express yourself in your own unique way.

Does reality seem to contradict imagining you as your mentor (# 4 - Fake it until you make it)? Learn that you can feel the same confidence and energy as your mentor, but express your true self. Even if you think of yourself as a mentor, you will naturally express your ideas in your own style and in your own words.

6. Engage the audience from the start

I find myself most nervous before and at the beginning of a presentation. I can think of a more tense moment than walking in front of a silent audience, all staring blankly at you. Once I realized I wasn't going to die from speaking, I could relax. I like to start every conversation with an ice breaker to break the ice and make the audience aware that they are encouraged to participate. I also like to make them laugh to get their full attention.

Here are some ideas for ice-breaking activities and audience participation techniques:

Ask the audience a question. Simple questions that anyone can answer. Loud answers are encouraged. If no one answers, gently tease the audience. When people answer your questions or throw out speculation, the attention is on them, not on you.

Interact with the audience: Ask the audience to make physical gestures, such as raising their hand, high-fiving a neighbor, pointing at a body, or patting themselves on the back. This unexpected gesture from the audience will help the audience become more involved in your presentation because they have invested in you psychologically by participating in your request. If people sit for a long time, their exercise also helps blood flow and keeps them awake. * smile *

Tell a joke.

Show interesting pictures or videos that have something to do with the current topic.

Ask the audience to repeat what you said. The same reasoning as physical motion.

Ask the audience to repeat the main points that you have repeated over and over again throughout the presentation. Make sure you have no more than 3 bullet points, and make them easy to remember and repeat. Remind the audience of your key points throughout the presentation and familiarize them with what they are.