Million Tips

Overcoming Nervousness in Public Speaking

Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by Jeremy Reis in Presentations

Surveys performed worldwide rate the fear of public speaking as the number one fear:

1. Fear of public speaking (Glossophobia)
2. Fear of death (Necrophobia)
3. Fear of spiders (Arachnophobia)
4. Fear of darkness (Achluophobia, Scotophobia or Myctophobia)
5. Fear of heights (Acrophobia)
6. Fear of people or social situations (Sociophobia)
7. Fear of flying (Aerophobia)
8. Fear of open spaces(Agoraphobia)
9. Fear of thunder and lightning(Brontophobia)
10. Fear of confined spaces(Claustrophobia)

75% of those surveyed say they suffer from speech anxiety. It’s unfortunate that so many people fear public speaking and presenting, but there are many techniques and tips you can use to overcome your nerves during a speech. There are five main tips for overcoming the fear and anxiety of public speaking:

1. Accept it
   • Nerves happen. When I speak in public, I am often very nervous (I’m nervous thinking back to speeches as I write this), but I just accept that nerves come with it and calm down as the presentation progresses.
   • Use it as energy for your speech! Nerves can help keep your senses at peak performance and provide energy for your presentation.
2. Be prepared
   • You need to be prepared for your speech. Better speech preparation techniques will help you overcome nerves.
   • Follow the preparation tips – but focus on practicing your speech. The more rehearse, the better you will feel about your speech.
3. Be natural – be yourself
   • Have confidence: you know your stuff!
   • Your audience trusts you to present this material, otherwise, you wouldn’t be up there.
   • Your boss and coworkers trust you are the best man or woman to give this speech! You are the right person at the right time for this presentation.
4. Know your audience
   • The better you anticipate what your audience will be looking for in your speech, the better you will present.
   • Understand attributes about your audience: age demographic, careers, marital status, commonalities, differences.
   • Talk to audience members before your speech. A few friendly faces will help you present.
5. Maintain physical control
   • Learn how to control your breathing and pacing. I am a fast talker so I must deliberately pace my speech and insert pauses to make sure I do not talk too fast for my audience.
   • Breathe deeply when you need to. This helps calm the nerves and gives you a break from speaking.
   • If you get a difficult question, take a drink of water. This will allow you to pause and gather your response before addressing the question.
   • Repeat the question or make a comment thanking the questioner to gain another moment to collect your thoughts.
   • Move a little during your speech – don’t remain frozen in one spot.
   • Don’t pace too much!

Tags: fears, nerves, public speaking, speeches