You are about to deliver a speech and as you step on the podium one thousand and one things run through you head at the same time : “ what am I doing here?, why are they all looking at me like this?, Do they think I am ugly?, would they like what I would want to say?.....”
Your vocal Cord suddenly becomes dry and no word would come out from it and then you run out of the stage saying to your friends at the back stage: “I can’t do it, I can’t face them, I am not meant to speak before an audience.”
Many people have a deep-rooted fear of making a speech in public. It is understandable that people have this fear, but it does not mean that you should give in to it and avoid public speaking at all cost.
Jerry Seinfeld made us understand that "According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two? Does that seem right? To the average person that means that if they have to go to a funeral, they'd be better off in the casket than giving the eulogy."
There are three solutions to help you reduce fear and make it work for rather than against you:
1. Accept it as nature’s way of helping you.
You don’t need to be terrified of fear when you accept it as nature’s way of protecting you and helping you. We all feel fear. Whether your fear stems from the thought of standing alone by yourself on stage before hundreds of people, or even from the thought of getting upstage to speak, keep in mind that you are responding normally. Seasoned speakers never get rid of apprehension before speaking, nor do they want to.
An experienced actor once said: “I used to have butterflies in my stomach every time I stand in front of an audience. Now that I know how to make them work for me, they fly in formation.”
Fear is nature’s way of preparing you for danger, real or fancied. Nature adds the adrenaline in your blood stream. It speeds up your pulse and your responses. It increases your blood pressure to make you more alert. It provides you with the extra energy you need for doing your best. Without the anxiety there would be no extra effort. Identify fear as a friend. Recognize it and use it well.
2. Analyze Your Fear.
Analyze your type of fear. In public speaking there are only three dangers to self-esteem:
Fear of yourself – fear of performing poorly or not pleasing your self-esteem.
Fear of your audience – fear they may tease or laugh at you
Fear of your material – fear you have nothing sensible to say or you are not well prepared.
Fear of yourself (a) and fear of your audience (b) are very much connected.
It is possible to be pleasing yourself while failing to satisfy your audience. Aiming for audience approval is often a better alternative because, if you succeed, you are in fact also pleasing yourself. But in aspiring to satisfy your audience you must never compromise your message.
Sometimes you may have to give a message to people you know are particularly opposed to it. This calls for courage. Don’t fear to disagree. Good speakers have done so and have proudly walked off the stage successfully. Honest beliefs equip a speaker and give force to the speech.
3. Make use of what you have learned.
You now know that fear, nature’s secret weapon, can actually help you succeed. You found you were not really afraid of fear but of yourself, your audience, and your material. Now, use your knowledge. Here’s how you can:
a. Hide your negative feelings from others.
If you lack self-confidence, hide it. Letting the audience know it won’t help you in any way. Never discuss it. This will just make you feel worse. Act confidently. It will rub off on you. You will look the way you feel. Don’t give in to fear. Stay calm and relaxed. Enjoy your talk and your audience.
b. Assess your condition reasonably.
Think of the reasons why you were called to speak. Among other possible speakers, you were chosen. Whoever asked you had confidence in you, or you would not have been chosen. You are thought of as a competent, good speaker. And you know your topic. You know more about it than your listeners do. Your assessment reveals that you are prepared to do well and that you have the benefit over your listeners. When you accept this, your confidence will show to your audience. It will make them believe in you and in your speech.
c. Assess your audience reasonably.
They want you to do well. Listeners suffer along with a speaker who is having difficulty delivering, and they do not enjoy suffering. They would much rather react and criticize; that would give them a good time. So consider your audience rather than yourself. Win their interest, and you will be more confident, and everybody will be happy.
d. Assess your material reasonably.
Fear of speech material is the easiest to conquer since the solution is simple: Knowledge and preparation.
Knowledge and preparation dispel fear, but by themselves they do not automatically assure the delivery of a successful speech. A good start is when you recognize you don’t need to be afraid – of yourself, your audience, or your material. And as you succeed in making speeches, you will soon say, “I can do it because I have done it often.”
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