Most of us have two biggest fears in our life; one death & other public speaking. We all know the power of public speaking in life & wish to deliver a speech that makes the audience excited & convinced. Public speaking can help you make contacts, get funding for a new enterprise or a job promotion as a team leader. Here are 10 points that will definitely help you to get out of the fear & eventually help you to succeed in your career.
1. Start with a strong desire.
A strong desire is the driving factors for our actions. We should have a burning desire to achieve results. If you are not willing to overcome the fear of public speaking by yourself, who else is there to help you?
So first and foremost step towards excelling in public speaking is to make sure that you have a strong will to beat the fear & master the art of public speaking.
2. Feel for the issue you want to speak.
You cannot speak on an issue that does not entice you to share your views with others. You should be convinced enough about the issue you wish to speak. Feeling and excitement is a stepping stone towards making your maiden speech. Therefore, you should feel connected to the issue & then get ready to prepare the speech. Everything you say should be leap flaming from your heart.
Every great movement in the annals of history is triumph of enthusiasm. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
and I am sure public speaking is nothing less than a movement for you.
3. Make proper research and collect facts about issue.
The key to a successful speech is the knowledge of the subject. You can’t deliver a prize winning speech unless you know what you are going to say. A speech is not only the combination of nice & attention catching words, but it should be supported by facts & figures. A speech without facts appears to be shallow. So a research includes your efforts to know about the subject using search engines, library and discussions with subject experts.
4. Act confident, feel brave.
It is not only your case which is unusual, even the greatest speakers had stage fright in their initial days. The only way to go through a fear is to face it. Nobody is going to kill if you fumble. If you are facing the public with all your preparations you would leave little chance for your confidence to shake, but still you should know that it is not your last but first speech. No matter what happens to you, you will surely be available with a next chance.
5. Understand audience & make connection
Well, this is not just true with only a large gathering. We follow this in our day to day life, even when we have a one to one interaction. Knowledge of your audience will help you to decide about the subject, selection of words & envisaging the speech towards their interests. Everybody is interested in issues concerning to their life.
6. Prioritize preparation
The best way for you to gain confidence is to prepare so well on something that you really want to say that there can be little chance to fail.– Lockwood-Thorpe, Public Speaking today.
As they say ‘well planned half done’. Practice again & again your well researched speech, make video & get corrected. Be in full control of yourself. More you practice more you feel confident. Attending to other presentations or watching videos of other public speakers will also be helpful for you to get your actions smoother.
7. Command on language, pronunciation
Lack of knowledge of language & not a proper pronunciation disconnects audience & you can be left alone for speaking without an actively listening audience.
8. Focus on delivery and not just on content.
How you say is as important as what you say. Although this is something that improvises with numbers of your speeches still it is helpful to know and focus about basic speaking styles like correct pauses, volume of your voice, speed and use of eyes & hand movement. Gestures, eye contact, movement, and voice matters.
