Speaking in public is still one of man’s (and women’s) greatest fears. Surveys even suggest it is feared more than death.  Comedienne, Seinfeld has a line which stresses this and the fact that if these statistics are correct, most people would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy.

Seriously though, fear of public speaking or Glossophobia is very real for some people. The aspect of speaking publicly is what triggers the anxiety for the speaker. The speaker may be comfortable if they speak in front of family/friends, but when it comes to speaking in front of a group of complete strangers, their anxiety skyrockets, and vice versa. Most people have a fear of making mistakes or messing up or just being judged in general by their audience.

Often the anxiety that people have of speaking publicly stems from a previous experience that ended with them making a mistake or being judged by their audience or their audience not being as interested in the topic as the speaker thought they would be. 

You can read more about how to overcome the fear of public speaking in Mike Mitchell’s book.

Sometimes a lack of self-confidence stems from merely a lack of good speaking experiences. It makes sense that if you haven’t done something before, especially something that has provided you with a positive result and encouraging memory, you aren’t going to feel confident to take action. The fact to remember here though is that by taking action, you will gain more experience and your confidence muscle will grow.

A lack of self-confidence when speaking in public can come from your own feelings of insecurity. When you have little belief in your abilities, you tend not to take chances and allow the imagined fear of public speaking take over.

To build public speaking self-confidence…

  • Ask yourself, “What is the worst that could happen?” Too often we put energy into what might be a potential problem that most likely never happens. Instead of worrying take control by focussing on the message you want to get across.
  • When doing something for the first time, imagine you have already done it in the past. Close your eyes and create a vivid image of you succeeding. Use all five senses. The mind doesn’t recognise the difference between the real and the imagined. This will enable you to do the thing with a confident attitude.
  • When doing something for the first time, imagine you have already done it in the past. Close your eyes and create a vivid image of you succeeding. Use all five senses. The mind doesn’t recognise the difference between the real and the imagined. This will enable you to do the thing with a confident attitude.
  • Find someone who is already confident in that area and copy them. Model their behaviours, attitudes, values, and beliefs to be as confident as them.
  • Use the ‘as-if’ frame. How would you act if you were already confident? What would you be thinking? How would you speak to yourself? How would you communicate with others? Act ‘as-if’ you are in that confident state.
  • Go into the future and ask if what you are faced with is such a big deal? Imagine you are reviewing your life and if what you are faced with will even rate. Keeping things in proper perspective diminishes fear and builds confidence.
  • Remember that you lose out on 100% of opportunities that you never go for. One of the sales reps I coached had a mantra that I share with my clients. “Never drive past a sale”. For him, this meant he would bite the bullet and cold call every promising business he came across. He was giving himself the best opportunity to succeed no matter how nervous he felt. To get what you want, you must ask for it. And when you do this, you will be amazed at how empowering it can be.
  • Disarm your nagging, negative internal voice. Don’t believe everything you think. I came across an interesting method of doing this and that was by changing the internal voice to a cartoon character. For example, if you heard Donald Duck nagging, you certainly wouldn’t put a lot of value in what it had to say.

Good public speakers appear confident, friendly, enthusiastic and energetic.

Confidence comes from choosing a topic you like and researching it well. Friendliness can be conveyed simply by smiling at your audience. Enthusiasm and energy will naturally follow when you enjoy your topic and are well prepared.

When you follow these tips your fear of public speaking will diminish and you will have the confidence to own the stage.

To learn more about upcoming Professional Speaking Training Workshops to become a confident and skilled speaker, click on this link.

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