Stomp those speaking fears as soon as they begin to surface. Don’t let nervousness, anxiety or speaking stress derail you from a speaking or presentation opportunity. Practically everyone on this planet experiences some form of nervousness or apprehension when asked to stand up and speak in front of others.
Different speakers have different tactics to help them minimize their speaking stress in order to be fully prepared for their audience. Here are nine tips. Putting even one of them into practice will help you maximize your speaking success the next time you need to say a few words.
1. Channel energy. Nervousness is just another form of energy. In any speaking situation, you can command that very energy to your advantage. Direct it into your voice, your body movements and into building a dynamic and lasting audience connection.
2. Begin powerfully. Apprehension appears wherever there is uncertainty. Know your speech opening. When you know what you want to say and it is completely etched in your mind, anxiety evaporates.
3. Tense and release. Before speaking, practice this yoga ‘type’ exercise. Begin with your feet and finish at the top of your head, tightening the different sections of your body as much as you can. Releasing, relaxing completely, and repeating if necessary.
4. Change pace. Short bursts of activity such as hands up – hands down, shadow boxing or short power walks can provide you with energy boosts. Putting your mind to action and moving your mental wheels in a different direction, will help stomp those speaking fears.
5. Check in. Identify your self-talk. Chuck catastrophic thinking. Become aware of your internal dialogue. Change your negatives to positives. Does it take a bit of nudging to switch those ‘no can do’ messages into ‘can do’ ones? Yes, but, it is worth the effort
6. Consider food. Smelling citrus fruit, plant leaves or flowers can help you be more alert and think more clearly. Citrus appears to increase the beta wave activity in the brain. Other aromas that are known to energize are rosemary, eucalyptus and vanilla.
7. Imagine yourself. Create a mental picture of how you would like to see your speech or presentation evolve. See it. Feel it. In her book, Speak and Grow Rich, the late and great Dottie Walters talks about the first time she spoke to an audience of 5000. Terrified, she slowly began visualizing to squash her fears by visualizing herself tucking her children into bed with a soft pink blanket the family called their ‘comforter’. She filled that entire auditorium with that ‘comforter’ in her mind. worked. She received four standing ovations.
8. Prepare and practice. Nothing deters speaking and presentation fears like being fully prepared and practiced.
9. Change focus. Put your energy into ‘the giving’ and not ‘the receiving’. Forget about focusing on what you want the audience to think of you, what you look like or what you sound like. Instead, focus on giving 100% attention to the people listening to you and to filling their needs. When you take the focus off yourself, nervousness gradually disappears. All your energy is now directed squarely at the people in front of you, and as a speaker and presenter that is exactly where you want your energy to be.
Don’t let anxiety, nervousness or speaking stress prevent you from being your best. Stomp those speaking fears. Take charge and harness the energy into your speaking. As a professional you owe it not only to yourself, but to your audience.
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