“Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes
Many of us become anxious when it comes to speaking in public. Communicating is an essential aspect of human life which is very helpful in both our personal and professional life. There are many people around the world who feel conscious while speaking in front of a huge audience. You might freeze, start sweating and that’s completely fine & normal.
People usually face this kind of fear because of a lack of ideas, thoughts, clarity about the subject, etc. At some point in your life, you have to face a situation where you have to speak in front of hundreds of people. For example a speech in a school, a presentation in your college or at your workplace, etc. To do any of these things you will require a fair amount of ideas, thoughts, pitch etc. Even a person who Is a speaker today might have faced a lot of fright before he/she became a pro at speaking.
Fortunately, it is possible to overcome the fear so that you can give speeches on any given topic. First of all, you need to build confidence and know your topic very well . Then build your speech outline, focus on points that can make your speech worth listening. Additionally if you still face a problem you should work on your speaking skills by joining a class or taking help from a professional.
Here are some tips you need to know to fix your speaking fright :
1) Start Small: usually people who are conscious about speaking in front of a huge audience should always start with small group of people say your family. Once you are very clear with your topic, ideas & thoughts even the size of the group won’t matter.
2) Prepare your speech thoroughly :
Fear usually arises when a person lacks clarity and is not well prepared for the speech . You should always practice until you feel confident about speaking in front of the audience . Rehearse several times before delivering your speech .
3) Don’t mug up your speech :
This is one of the most important things which a person needs to know . People have a tendency to just mug up each and every line of the speech and when it comes to speaking they try to memorize it and skip important points . Instead try to memorize the bullet points or subheads of the topic and try to explain each of them in your own words.
4) Reduce stress :
The stress that people face before giving is speech should be avoided. Just take a deep breath before going on to the stage and just think of positive thoughts try to divert your mind somewhere else. Stress can be reduced either by listening to music or meditating for 5 mins .
5) Find a friend to focus on :
Just before giving your speech introduce yourself to some members of the front row so that once you start speaking you can make an eye contact with them to erase your nervousness and to connect with your audience properly.
6) Engage your audience :
Once you start evolving the people who are listening to you , you would feel very comfortable speaking in front of them . Try delivering your speech and then throw up some questions to your listeners for two way communication for making the session more lively and interactive . It will not only boost your confidence but you will feel ease in speaking.
-Article By Jaspreet Khurana
