Are you a person who cringes at the mere thought of walking on stage? Do you find your palms sweaty, or your heart races and your legs become shaky at the thought of addressing people? One of the top ten human fear is speaking in front of individuals. It can be a factor that will impede your development. Do your fear addressing many people? Well, you are not alone. However, there are good actions you can master. This will help you conquer your mental stress and prepare you to overcome this hindrance. The following are some ways to overcome the fear of public speaking;
Prepare your Environment in Advance
Preparing your environment early enough helps you to concentrate on the delivery. This is critical in helping you to calm your nerves. It will eliminate the nervous feeling knowing well that you spent the time preparing for your presentation. It will make you great in public speaking.
Be Audience-centered
Always remember that the presentation is not about yourself. This will help you fight off that fear. Focus on the audience, rather than on how you will perform. Your fears will automatically disappear. In most cases, people don’t mind how you look or how your voice sounds. The audience’s main point of concentration is what you offer them. Concentrate on how you can give them the optimum benefit.
Picture Success
In public speaking, visualization is a unique feature that requires a leap of faith, interestingly, it works. Visualize every step while addressing your audience. This starts from being introduced, taking over the stage, giving the presentation, taking questions, and receiving a warm round of applause.
Ground Yourself
We can be our worst critic if we decide to. Let go of perfection. Encourage and motivate yourself the way you would do to a friend. Put that perfection aside. Offer yourself full credit for rising to your best effort. Each presentation builds and gives you more experience. This will help you improve in the long run. Teach yourself on how to build on each success.
Accept the Fact that you make Mistakes
No one was born a perfect in public speaking. Good public speakers are not born, they are made. A great example is Martin Luther. He never delivered that speech from nowhere. Luther was a reverend and therefore had made countless speeches before the famous “I have a dream” speech. He also had mistakes hence you should not be disappointed when you make a mistake. The most important point is to learn and correct your mistakes.
Seek Depth
When presenting a speech, nothing boosts your confidence as much as the grasp of your topic. The in-depth knowledge will assist you to address almost all the question your audience may throw your way.
Watch and Learn
Before your step on any stage, it is important to practice in front of a mirror. It will help you observe your expressiveness and practice keeping your head up. Observing yourself in this situation helps to improve your overall delivery. It builds your skills and confidence further and will take your public speaking skills to the next level.
