Public Speaking Can Help You Become Fluent ...

Ever wonder why learning a language takes up so much time and energy? The more you try, the harder it seems to get, as if every time you open the textbook, the language itself is expanding before your very eyes, giving you a nudge to close the book and return to sunbathing in the backyard.

What is the common anxiety denominator that ties public speaking and foreign language speaking? Let's decipher how a quick public speaking course can get you twice as fast to your goal than a fluent foreign speaker.

COMMON DENOMINATOR 1: SPEECH ANXIETY

Public speaking and speaking a foreign language cause the reaction in a human brain: anxiety attack. The reasons behind the response vary: The lack of positive experience, fear of sticking out too much, "all eyes on me" syndrome – those are the general definitions. The more in-depth aspects, such as being ashamed of an accent, fear of messing up grammatical rules, refer to a perfectly normal humane response.

The best way to fight it? Imagining the speech as a conversation. Performance anxiety tends to ease the nerves once the orator envisions himself having an ordinary conversation with a non-judgemental friend. This public speaking technique helps the tension in a stomach dissolve into a slightly less shiver and disappear altogether. Once this subconscious fear has gone, the brain opens up to receiving information, and learning becomes a walk in a park

COMMON DENOMINATOR 2: ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE

Another super helpful public speaking technique that can be borrowed and applied to foreign linguistics is "analyzing the audience". How do you convince yourself that speaking without fear of making mistakes is okay? Your audience are people just like you – unless you're giving a speech at a NATO conference or at a CERN gathering, people are understanding, they often use slang, which is technically an incorrectly used grammar device, too, they probably have parents, grandparents, aunties who are foreign and have accents – simply put – it's okay to let yourself speak a foreign language without perfecting it first.

COMMON DENOMINATOR 3: RESEARCH HOW OTHERS DO IT

Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King, Margaret Thatcher – they were all undoubtedly gifted orators capable of capturing the audience's attention. However, not everyone is born a natural. To gain confidence, public speakers do their research on all the great orators who were once terrible at their art. As a foreign speaker, take advantage of this and do the same – research the stories of people who speak multiple languages, yet once sucked at it. They all offer conducive tips and boost your confidence with the been there, done that, support system.

Too many orators become swamped when they try to do too much. You have a limited window of time and there is only so much your audience can digest at once. Make a structure of key points carefully and ruthlessly scratch everything else. If the subject matter is vast and there is more for audience to learn, give out a detailed handout or direct people to a website where they can get more details. Anna Karenina makes a great book but a lousy public speaking presentation. As an orator you must cut through the details and complexity and distill the themes. When you prepare a speech, you have to think like a painter; the beauty of the portrait is revealed by what is hidden.

Good speakers never copy other speakers. Good speakers know that they can only speak from the heart. However, good speakers are willing and often “steal” from others in the sense of style and structure. Nobody knows everything and sharing information is how you get ahead.

“Good artists copy; great artists steal.”

Pablo Picasso