Fear of public speaking is one of the biggest problems that people in today’s world face. In fact, it is the biggest nightmare for many people out there. Few people have the guts to take to the stage and sweep the audience off their feet. If you are currently dealing with the fear of public speaking, simply take a look at these tips. They will help you to overcome the fear without a challenge.
Admit your fear of public speaking
You’ll never get to the bottom of anything unless you admit that it’s out of the norm. Acknowledgement is required to get to the root of the problem. You will never be able to repair something if you are unable to acknowledge that something is wrong. As a result, it’s critical that you recognize that you’re suffering from social or public speaking anxiety.
Recognizing a problem is the first step toward fixing it. Recognize that it’s normal to be nervous while giving a speech in front of an audience. It makes it simple to figure out how to cope with it once you accept it for what it is.
Speak about something along with a person that you are comfortable with
The topic you choose might be the source of your public speaking fear. When giving a speech, you don’t have to use the tough or well-known ones. As a result, it is preferable to choose a topic about which you are at ease.
When making decisions, use caution and patience. Choose the person with whom you can have a heartfelt conversation. If you haven’t been given a choice in the topic of your speech, you may always seek a change. It’s important to remember that quitting up is not an option. Do not lose your cool if you are unable to pick a topic of your choosing and your anxiety has already been activated.
Understand your audience
It’s fine if you have to make a decision that you didn’t want to make. You still have options for dealing with public speaking fear. Knowing your audience is one of these methods.
To find out who will be your listeners, do a survey. It is easier to establish a suitable tone for your speech when you know who your audience will be. When you know who will be presenting the speech, your nervousness will be much reduced. While also enabling you to pick the right tone, knowing your audience develops a sense of comfort when making a speech.
Practice a lot
Being well-rehearsed allows you to know your moves. We tend to fear something that’s not known to us. To avoid this fear of the unknown, being well-rehearsed is the best way to beat anxiety. You will feel more at ease if you have sufficiently prepared yourself. This helps to reduce anxiety and eliminate any trigger that may have arisen due to lack of preparation. Try practicing in front of a mirror. You may blush or laugh watching your reflection, but this does wonders to make you feel comfortable when making a speech.
Relax your mindset with sleep
Being overly stressed can cause irregular sleep patterns. For example, one of the significant triggers of public speaking anxiety is irregular sleep patterns.
Ensure that you take proper sleep. A tired mind can take you nowhere. So rather than spoiling your big day due to lack of sleep, it’s better to get adequate rest before the day of speech and during the preparation period. If you have trouble falling asleep, then drink milk before going to bed. Warm milk helps you fall asleep faster. Another way to fall asleep faster is that you can listen to ‘sleep’ music.
Do your homework before a public speech
The primary cause behind the fear of public speaking is age. You are standing on an elevated platform with a room full of people to face. Who wouldn’t get anxious at such a sight?
The best way to deal with it is to explore the stage before the main event takes place. If possible, then rehearse on the same platform twice or thrice. This will reduce your stage fear, hence eliminating public speaking anxiety. You are highly unlikely to stammer or feel anxious when you make a speech on the platform that you’ve already explored. A well-rehearsed address on a platform that you’ve grown slightly used to is unlikely to let anxiety surface.
Follow these tips and you can easily overcome the fear.
For more info on Anxiety, view the latest episodes of the Anxiety Therapist Podcast.
