Some people tend to have a knack for public speaking when they are in front of a crowd or a microphone, giving a toast or a speech. Others tend to feel this existential dread whenever they’re in the same position, wanting nothing less than to run away screaming. Luckily, you don’t have to be the latter, but you can be the former with some help and experience. Let’s cover what you can do to make yourself a better public speaker:

Be OK With Feeling Nervous

Even the most socially savvy people out there tend to get the jitters from time to time. Feeling shy and nervous are completely normal feelings, not a personality trait hardwired into your psyche. We eventually face such feelings when we’re in situations that make us feel uncomfortable. 

Put the Audience First.

Remember, the point of giving a speech, toast or presentation is to communicate a message to your audience. A good speaker cares about their audience and wants to feel what they need and how they can help them with what they’re saying. This isn’t about you, but about them. You need to give yourself to your audience, meaning you can’t spend time being too self-conscious.

Be Prepared

It would be best if you took the time to figure out the ideal way to tailor your message to your audience. What optimal approach will keep their attention and resonate with their minds? It would help if you thought of a strong opener immediately catching their attention. Crafting a thoughtful conclusion will also help listeners remember the key points you talked about throughout your speech.

Preparing for less formal conversations, such as dinner parties with neighbours or a networking event at work, is different from preparing for a formal speech. Planning is still the way to go, however. Think about possible points you may want to make about a project at work before you meet with the audience; it should give you the confidence boost you need to stay calm and collected. Knowing a bit more about your party guests before you speak will make it much easier to land any conversations you’re engaged in.

Outline But Don’t Script

You’re speaking to your audience in the most direct way possible. If you can, you should outline what you plan on saying rather than writing out your speech word-for-word. This will allow you to feel more natural when you speak, letting your voice be your own and allowing for easier eye contact. Not reading your speech from a script will make you look and feel more authentic and natural, confident in your abilities. It shows that you know what you’re talking about by heart.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Nobody enjoys repetition ad nauseam, but it is necessary if you want to become an excellent public speaker. This is most often the solution to solving the issue of nerves acting up. Practising your speech out loud will allow you to feel and hear how it comes out of your mouth. With the feedback of a friend, coworker or family member, you can get some much-needed perspective. It will take some patience, but in the end, you will be better off for it.

Learn to Listen.

Whether or not you’re talking one on one or in front of thousands of people, communication is a two-way activity. Both parties have to be engaged for things to be truly memorable. When you’re trying to engage your listeners in less formal settings, good communicators listen to what others say before answering questions and then add their spin on things.

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Public speaking anxiety, also known as glossophobia, is one of the most widespread social fears out there. Although some people may feel nervous about giving speeches and presentations, if you are experiencing a social anxiety disorder, public speaking may be an absolute nightmare.

Public speaking anxiety may also be called performance anxiety, a type of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Social phobias are the most common type of mental health condition. Symptoms of public speaking anxiety are the very same that happens with social anxiety disorder, but they only happen when speaking in public. If you are suffering from public speaking anxiety, you will likely be worried about an upcoming speech or presentation for months before it happens. You will experience physical symptoms of anxiety during the speech, such as a pounding heart, quivering voice, dizziness, upset stomach, shortness of breath, blushing, shaking and more.

Preparing for a Public Speech

There are several ways you can use to cope with speech anxiety, as well as become better at public speaking in general. Public speaking is similar to any other activity. Training and preparation mean better performance when your experience grows. You will be better prepared, with boosted confidence and you’ll find it easier to concentrate on getting your message across to your audience. Even if you suffer from social anxiety, you can deliver a great speech with proper treatment and enough time devoted to preparing ahead of time.

Planning Ahead

Taking serious steps to plan before the speech will give you better control over your anxiety. Before you give a speech, consider the following:

Choosing a topic that is close to your heart. If you can, you should choose something you’re excited about. If you can’t choose the topic yourself, you should use an approach to the topic you find interesting. As an example, you can give a personal story that relates to the topic as a way of introducing it to your speech. You can ensure you are engaged in the topic and you will stay motivated in your preparation and research. That way, when you are presenting, your enthusiasm and interest in the topic will be inspiring to your audience.

Be familiar with the venue you’ll be visiting. You should visit the conference room, auditorium, classroom, banquet hall, whatever it is. Familiarising yourself with its look, practising in there just for the environment, all of those things will help ease you into the speech when the time comes. Being familiar with the venue is one of the best ways to relax.

Ask for accommodations. This means changes to the work environment that would help you deal with anxiety. A podium, a pitcher of water, audiovisual equipment and even choosing to stay seated if you can, all of those can make a difference. If you have been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, then you may need to let the organisers know ahead of time, so they can give you a hand. There’s no shame in having someone watching your back.

Avoid scripting your speeches. If you have ever sat through a speech where someone reads it prepared ahead of time, word-by-word, then you know you will probably fail to recall much of what was said. Prepare a list of key points on paper and note cards you can use later on. 

Develop your routine. Putting one together to manage your anxiety can be of great help before a presentation or speech. It should help put you in the proper state of mind, allowing you to maintain a relaxed state before, during and after the event. It may be something as simple as practising before a mirror or meditation, whatever works for you.

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If you need to give a speech soon, you will face many symptoms of anxiety and stress. This is, even more, the case, if you need to present in front of your boss for example, or it is some other major event going on. This is normal and even the most expert public speakers admit that there is some level of nervousness before a speech. 

And the goal should always be not to fight the adrenaline surge, but to instead leverage it. So the next time you step out to speak in front of others, you will do well to utilise some strategies to prepare just before the speech. Here are a few working tips in that regard: 

• Do a positive pep talk to yourself – it is always important to claim some success before you begin your presentation. This is a trick that many experts in sports psychology employ and it works well. Positive self-talk before any performance boosts confidence and leads to a higher win rate. So, in the minutes leading to your speech, make sure to give yourself a few compliments and self-affirmations. 
  
  
• Power posing – if you get some alone time, make sure to also practice power posing. Assume an expansive and open stance in front of a mirror. This will give your mind a powerful confidence boost, which you can then use to enhance your performance minutes before it begins. 
  
  
• Light exercise – a light stretch is a great way to relax your body if you feel any tension in it. Knee-bends or a brisk walk also work to supply your brain with oxygen and make you less of a stress knot. 
  
  
• Take a few very deep breaths – anxiety has a way of tightening your muscles and making it difficult to breathe. That is why you can take some time to take a few deep breaths. Try to maximise the amount of oxygen flowing into your body and take the breaths with your diaphragm. This is a natural relaxation process, which can immediately calm you down and ease your nerves. 
  
  
• Forget about pretending you are not nervous – even experts in public speaking are nervous. It is what they do with nervousness that counts. Instead of trying to control this state, they embrace it and turn it into an eagerness to perform. If you try to suppress your anxiety, you will only make it stronger. 
  
  
• Focus on giving to others – try to remember the last time you gave a birthday present to someone. Were you nervous? Most likely not. Perhaps you felt a pinch of anticipation or excitement but never felt nervous about it. You can use this in your public speeches as well. Think of your performance as a gift to your audience, like a package of useful information that you willingly give to them. This is a mental attitude that empowers you and makes you perform better. 
  
  
• Always practice the first minute of your speech in your head – it doesn’t matter how you plan on opening your speech – a personal story, an interesting quote, or a curious statistic – always make sure to memorise these first sentences in your head. When you are 100% how you will begin, you will feel much more confident and transition from feeling nervous into feeling more comfortable once you go past these initial minutes of the speech. Besides, you will create a very positive first impression this way. 
  
  

Remember to utilise these simple but effective strategies the next time you approach public speaking. You will be surprised by how powerful they are. 

© Presence Training