Although sweaty palms and a speeding heartbeat may make you feel like you aren’t cut out to be a public speaker, don’t worry. Moderate levels of stress may actually help with your performance.
Note that the keyword here is ‘moderate.’ When the fear of public speaking keeps you up at night and gets in the way of routine activities, you know you have to do something about it.
Here is how you can effectively work towards addressing the fear of public speaking.
Speak From The Heart
Remember that speaking verbatim is not meant for presentations. An open-secret of the public speaking world is that to become a great speaker, you must become a great storyteller—not a reader.
We suggest you ditch the PowerPoint and speak from the heart. When the audience is constantly directed toward slides, they pay more attention to the screen instead of the speaker.
When you use storytelling instead of reading your public speaking mantra, your audience retains information better too.
Once you master this art, you share experiences and anecdotes with your listeners. You successfully engage them by guiding them through the beginning, middle, and the end of your speech.
It’s Okay To Be Vulnerable
Really, it is. We are made to believe that confidence comes from not allowing anything to affect us. However, the opposite is true. Delivering your thoughts and ideas out to an audience requires confidence—something you can build up by allowing yourself to be vulnerable, to be human.
Connect with your audience. Let them get to know you. Understand that they are not just there to receive information; they are there to make new connections, to feel something. This is why connecting with the audience can help you combat the fear of having your voice heard by so many people.
Prepare Yourself Mentally
Some people find it the most relaxing to start preparing a few minutes before their speech. On the other hand, others prefer a few days’ notice. While you should spend a considerable amount of time penning down your speech and doing all your research, you shouldn’t neglect preparing yourself mentally as well.
Mental preparation is one of the strongest factors which can make or break your confidence. Start by visualizing the venue, the breathing of the audience as a collective unit, the lights, the mic, and picture yourself as the winner of the day.
If you want to conquer your fear of public speaking, get in touch with professional hypnotist, Rekha Shrivastava. Rekha has successfully helped countless clients become eloquent public speakers via Skype sessions.
Her areas of expertise include overcoming phobias and anxiety, weight loss, self-esteem strategies, stress management, PTSD and trauma resolution, relationship issues, and more.
Click here for a free consultation.
SOURCES:
http://www.pnas.org/content/111/Supplement_4/13614
https://hbr.org/2018/02/5-ways-to-get-over-your-fear-of-public-speaking
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