5 Fool-Proof Steps In Overcoming Your Fears of Public Speaking

Posted on Mar 24, 2011 in Singapore Public Speaking Blog | 0 comments

Undeniably, speaking in front of an audience can be a daunting task. And the truth is – almost everyone has this fear and the desire to overcome the fear of public speaking.

Thus, if you think it is only you, think again!

Being fearful of public speaking is actually nothing unusual. Even President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher admitted that they too had stage fright.

“The better qualified a person is to speak, the more the person fears the difficulty of speaking.”

~ Cicero, Roman orator some 2000 years ago ~

Public speakers, conference presenters, panel speakers and even Master of Ceremonies; everyone has butterflies in the stomach just before one begins to speak. But what truly separates the experienced speaker from the novice is one who is able to make those butterflies fly in formation.

Nervousness, speech anxiety, stage fright, platform panic, and blackout; they are lurking about all the time. But these problems can be overcome or, at least, reduced.

Follow the 5 easy steps below to start reducing your gigantic fear of public speaking to the size of a midget and fling it out of the window right before your public speaking engagement…

5 Fool-Proof Steps In Overcoming Your Fears of Public Speaking

Prepare
Preparation is the key to success. Speakers and entertainers always prepare and rehearse their scripts many, many times and usually weeks in advance. Nobody wants to take a risk. As the saying goes, “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

Practise
Practise, practise and practise. There is no short cut to success except practise. The best way to do it is to speak out loudly and simulate the conditions of your speaking environment. Do it in front of a mirror, friends, family members and colleagues.

Make a note
Keep note cards in your pockets. This is to ensure that if your mind goes blank, you have your notes to fall back on. These cards are an insurance against forgetting your points.

Bring along a few jokes
Just in case you need the jokes to cheer up the audience when there is an electrical failure or something happens suddenly.

Using breathing and relaxing methods
When you are nervous, your mouth and lips become dry and your throat and jaw tightens up. A tight throat can disrupt air flow and cause shallow breathing. You need to do some exercises to relax and loosen the muscles. Some of the common ways are:

• Do push up
• Push against the wall lunging yourself forward
• Use your breath only, (no sound) exhale on the syllable “PAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH.“

The aim is to make sustained breath. Keep the mouth, throat and jaw relaxed.

And there you’ve it, the 5 easy steps to overcoming your fears of public speaking.

At first look, these steps may seem common sense and overly simple. But hey… who says overcoming fears of public speaking must to be rocket science?

Like all other tasks, public speaking is a skill that can be learnt. You just need to give yourself the permission to learn and others to provide you with the feedbacks on how you can better improve your public speaking skills.

With the proper guidance from an accomplished public speaking coach and consistent practice, you too can become the affluent public speaker you’ve always dreamed of.

If you wish to learn the correct techniques in delivering powerful speeches and becoming a persuasive, assertive and competent leader, then be sure to check out our Power Presentation and Speaking program.

In the Power Presentation and Speaking program, you will:

• Develop confidence in front of an audience
• Deliver your speech with style
• Design your presentation/speech with clarity and purpose
• Discover the speech in you
• Understand the effectiveness of verbal and non-verbal communication
• Make you a persuasive, assertive and competent leader

Come and let Singapore’s top public speaking coach help you discover the speaking talent within you…

A Fun Fact...


By Ernest Chen - Singapore Top Public Speaking Coach