Public Speaking is an art, which requires oratory and rhetoric skills. Speaking in front of a crowd of strangers, or even known people, is not easy. It takes a lot of confidence and courage to be able to fearlessly speak to an audience attentively listening to you. From giving a speech to making a presentation, there are instances where people experience palpitations, cold feet or sweating due to the fear of being on the podium. For some the initial jitters go away as they ease their way onto the dais and for some the jitters are constant and bothersome. To reduce the jitters and nervousness here are a few tips that will help:

1)      Be well prepared and rehearse your speech/presentation. This will set your mind’s direction of thinking and keep you focused on what you say, instead of you grappling for words on stage, which is embarrassing. Rehearse at least one night before the day of your speech/presentation. A well prepared mind leads to a well presented self.

2)      Avoid using filler words like, ‘you know’, etc. If you have forgotten your lines move onto the next topic or slide in line. Don’t stand there pulling a blank on yourself, trying to remember the lines. You will make yourself more nervous.

3)      Keep your voice leveled. You are the only one that is nervous, no one knows that and you have to keep it that way. You don’t want the audience to think that you are nervous. Don’t sound too meek or aggressive. Make sure your tone is consistent throughout.

4)      Pause occasionally to give yourself and the audience a break, but don’t stretch it for too long though. If you take too long the audience might lose interest or you might just get back to your nervousness.

5)      Words and actions are all that you got, to show up there. While you have the words taken care of, you have to visualize and practice your actions too. Your body language will speak volumes about your confidence level and preparedness. Don’t fidget or overly make gestures. Practice your postures and expressions relevant for your speech/presentation. 

6)      Know your audience. Make eye contact with the audience. Don’t let your gaze go astray or be fixed on a certain spot, try to make eye contact. This will make it personable for the audience and keep them riveted to what you have to say.

7)      Make sure you get good rest the previous night. If possible do some relaxations exercises on both the day before and the day of the speech/presentation.

While going on the stage take a deep breath and stride in with confidence. Rise and let yourself shine up there in the spotlight.

By

Mary-Ann Roche

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 10th, 2010 at 3:38 pm and is filed under Fears, Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.