How to: Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking

Hello, Reader!

If you haven’t heard, at the start of this year I did my first motivational speech. In January, I was invited by my old high school to do a speech for year 11s about intrinsic motivation, which was so successful and, surprisingly, enjoyable. In the past, I’ve performed a few times in front of an audience and I have also done some forms of public speaking - ranging from short class presentations to speaking about my artwork at a parents evening. Because of this, I know that singing is very different from speaking in front of an audience and I also know that a lot of confidence depends on the topic you’re speaking on. According to me, I absolutely nailed that motivational speech because of how sure of myself I was and how great I felt afterwards, and I’m quite a shy person - so you can handle public speaking too! 

The most important thing is that you’re really confident about the topic you’re covering. The more you know about it, the less nervous you’ll be because there will be less of a chance of you slipping up and saying something ‘wrong’. Not only that, but it’s difficult to feel nervous when you’re the most knowledgeable person on the topic or have the most authority on it because you are sharing your “wisdom” rather than just talking to an audience. Of course, you can’t possibly know everything and, likely, you might not have the most authority on your topic, but what you can do is pretend you are! 

Getting educated about your topic doesn’t replace preparing your speech or presentation. You need to organise the information you want to share with your audience. I’m a huge advocate for powerpoint presentations because visuals are likely to keep the audience more engaged, but whether you plan to use visuals or not - it’s good to have notes. Try not to plan your speech word for word but rather have an idea of what you want to say and when; this will make you sound more natural. If you do have a presentation, print out your slides so you know what’s on them without the need to turn around. Reading off the slides can make you seem unprepared so having the slides printed out in front of you can help you avoid that. 

If you’re still nervous, my advice is don’t imagine the audience naked. I don’t know if anyone actually says that in real life, but I get the sentiment - and disagree with it. The point of imagining the audience naked is to help you feel as if the audience is as vulnerable as you are, but that’s not a very good strategy. Instead, you should focus on not feeling vulnerable in front of an audience in the first place. This is easier said than done, but you can begin by imagining that the audience is really interested in what you’re saying instead. Whether they are or not, doesn’t matter, because, in a lot of cases, they won’t be. However, imagining that they are, will give you a boost of confidence - especially if you’re really passionate about the topic. Speak as if you’re talking in front of a mirror: an audience with the same passion for the topic of your speech. 

Obviously, the only other tip is to take every opportunity to speak in front of an audience - the more often you do it, the better at it you’ll be. Confidence is key!

Love,

Agnes xo