The fear of public speaking ranks on the top 10 fears that people have. Many times, you’re going to find ourselves having to speak in front of people and there’s the tendency that you’re going to get nervous. Although feeling a bit nervous is almost inevitable, however, you can reduce that feeling with these 5 tips:
1. Speak one to one: Many times, our fears are due to the fact that we think we talking to everyone in the audience at once; i.e., if there are 500 people in the audience, then we’re talking to all 500 at once, but that’s not a helping thought. The better thing to do is to imagine you’re talking o 1 person 500 times. If you can talk to them one-on-one, you can talk to them in groups of 500.
2. Slow down: We let ourselves get angry because we think that the faster we speak, the better and bolder we look. But that’s not true. You should only speak fast if that’s your normalcy. The average speaking pace is around 110-150 words per minute. Don’t rush. Be cool and calm. Talking fast can make you stutter and that can intimidate you.
3. Structure: You can tell your audience your outlined points i.e., the 3-7 points you’re going to be talking about. This helps you and your audience to start the speech journey together, and know where you’ve reached at each point of your speech. That makes you feel at home and puts you and your audience in a common ground.
4. Act as if: Come to think of it, we get nervous because we think of the possibility of the worst happening. But if you turn the tides and think of your success, then things will be much better. Picture yourself giving that speech with charisma and a lot of confidence. That’s way better than doing the opposite.
5. Learn: You can learn more about human relationships and public speaking. Dale Carnegie can be of good help with his book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” The more you learn how to speak in front of people, the more you get better and more comfortable with doing it.
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