Before we get to these tips, I have one quick announcement to make. Today is the last day to get my Conducting Effective Twitter Contests training at 50% off. The sale ends at midnight (Central) tonight. This training will help you drive new traffic to your website and blog so make sure you check it out today.
Now, on to our 10 tips on overcoming stage fright...
1. Know your material- By far, the best thing that has helped me control my stage fright is to know my material forward and backward. Many instances of nervousness is the result of someone who knows that they will speaking on something they don't really understand. Putting in the prep time to know your subject can make a huge difference in the stage fright you experience.
2. Memorize your intro/conclusion- How you start off your speech can set the tone for the rest of it. If you have trouble at the beginning, you may find that you never really get back on track and that's all you'll be thinking about throughout the speech. But if you take the time to memorize your intro, then you put yourself on automatic pilot during the most crucial time of the speech. When you execute the intro without a hitch, you will see your confidence soar for the rest.
I also mention to memorize your conclusion. Though your opportunity for nervousness will be over when your speech ends, a smooth conclusion will help you end on a strong confident note that will help see you through the post-speech activities.
3. Practice your transitions- Chances are that your speech has several points you want to make. You may know your points well, but have you thought about how you are going to transition from one to the next? If not, you may stumble in your speech which can lead to a loss of confidence. Eliminate this by specifically practicing your transitions, including the transitions after your introduction and before your conclusion.
4. Practice your whole speech- Make sure you allow time to go through your speech from beginning to end. Do this a few times to help you work out the kinks. You will often find that what seems like a great transition during the planning doesn't really work well in practice. Only by practicing the whole speech, out loud, can you find these kinks. You will also find that many words look better written than they sound coming from you. Better to find out in practice than during the live event.
5. Breathe- Yep, breathe. Pay attention to this long before you get up to start your speech. Take slow, deep breaths as you arrive at the venue, as you meet and greet, and as you are being introduced. Then, when you find yourself behind the podium, make sure you take that one deep breath before you say the first word of your speech.
6. Smile- Smiling can help you feel more confident, even if deep down, you are not feeling that way during your speech. Frowning during your speech, and even pre-speech can have the opposite effect on you. So force the corners of your mouth up and let the confidence start to sweep over you.
7. Remember, the audience wants you to succeed- People are generally good natured and most want to see others do well. Audiences understand that nervousness is a part of public speaking and they won't be ready to attack as soon as you show a sign or two of stage fright. In fact, they will be more focused on what you are saying than how you are saying it. If you see your audience as your friend and not your foe, it will do wonders for your ability to face them as a speaker.
8. Don't apologize for being nervous- You will be surprised to know that your quivering, shaking body is more apparent to you than to most people. What seems like a 7.9 on the Richter scale is actually unnoticed by most people. Apologizing for being nervous only does two things: a) it reinforces to you the fact that you are nervous; b) it draws attention to your audience to something that they would probably never have thought about had you not mentioned it.
9. Visit the venue- If possible, visit the room you will be speaking in ahead of time. This gives you a chance to visualize what your environment will be like. It will also give you a chance to make sure the room is set up to deliver the speech the way you are practicing it. Practicing as though the screen for your PowerPoint will be right behind you may make it somewhat disconcerting if you find that the screen is actually set up to the far right of the audience. By doing a walk-through of the venue, you get a chance to make the speech itself just a little more familiar to you, which makes it a little more comforting as a speaker.
10. Visualize yourself speaking- Whether you get a chance to visit the venue or not, you can visualize yourself speaking. If you go through this mental exercise as well as physically practicing your speech, you will be making it something that is not new, but an event that you have done many times before. Then, if you get flustered during your speech, you can fall back on this "experience" to help you through it. You will be surprised at how easy it is to recall your visualization and practice sessions during your speech when you need a little help.
Perhaps the best way to deal with stage fright is experience itself. When you realize that speaking is not as bad as you thought it would be, it makes each speaking engagement after that a little easier to get through. But until you get that experience, try these ten tips. They have served me well and I'm sure they can do the same for you.
10 comments:
I'd add - don't worry if you mess up. Unless the audience has seen your notes, they won't know that you messed up!
Excellent tip, Diane.
For those who don't know Diane, she is a professional speaker and can pass on a ton of tips on overcoming stage fright, as well as many other great tips for the new public speaker.
Don't forget to have some fun too:) Even if you're nervous, once you get into it, public speaking is just talking to people in public and it can even be enjoyable:)
I would add a number 11 to this list (or possibly a number 0):
Find a place to practice these skills before you need them in real life!
We don't hand sixteen year olds a set of car keys, slap them on the back, and say "Just get out there. You'll get the hang of it." No. We make them practice in parking lots and under supervision, with guidance and feedback, before we send 'em out solo.
Same thing with public speaking. Find someplace you can go to practice giving speeches so that when you need to give one that actually matters to your career, you know what you're doing.
For my money, the best such venue is simply to join your local Toastmasters International club. Toastmasters has clubs all over the place, usually dozens and dozens within any metropolitan area, so chances are you'll find one that fits with your schedule.
The whole point of Toastmasters is to provide a space in which people can learn public speaking skills. It's a supportive, safe environment where you can practice under the guidance of people who have been in your shoes before, and with the support of an educational program with 75 years of experience backing it up.
It's good. It works. It's not like those thousand-dollar weekend public speaking seminars which, frankly, are a crock.
I spent about two years working through the Toastmasters program, and I can't speak highly enough about what it did for me. Before, I was a nervous, stammering wreck in front of people. Now, I can (and have, and still do) deliver an hour-long speech in front of a whole room full of strangers and leave them wanting more.
It's a good thing, too, because I need these skills to succeed in what I do (freelance editing: the best way to find clients is through giving speeches at writers conferences and such). It is not an exaggeration to say that without the skills I learned at Toastmasters, I couldn't be pursuing the career I now am.
Anyway. I don't mean to be all preachy or anything, but if the thought of speaking before groups leaves you shaking, give Toastmasters a try. At the end of the day, all that matters is that it works.
Great list. I've given a few talks to adults and used to speak on regular basis to groups of 50 to 100 kids.
Noce,
So true! Having fun can help you work through stage fright, but working through stage fright can also help you have fun ;)
Jason,
As a Past President of a Toastmaster's club, I couldn't agree with you more!
Thanks, Paul! We are fortunate to hear from a lot of speakers. I'm sure we all have our own tips that work well with us. I have to hand it to you, speaking in front a group of kids is tougher than ANY group I have spoken in front of. Kudos to you.
I love all your tips... except the one about not sharing that you are nervous. Please allow me to offer another perspective. People who have really bad anxiety about speaking need to release the pressure that comes from expecting themselves to be perfect. One of the ways to release the pressure is to be authentic with the audience to share that they have inner tensions, especially with humor. People with strong fears must learn that they can be genuine with others. They need new models for speaking that allow for authenticity. I am an expert on stage fright and fear of speaking and have been working people with stage fright and fear of speaking for over 20 years. My approach involves supporting people to transform stage fright into authentic presence so that they feel comfortable in their skin and are able to create a deep connection with listeners. I have written a book called It's Your Time to Shine: How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking, Develop Authentic Presence and Speak from Your Heart which your readers might find helpful. It can be found at amazon.com or on my own website at www.self-expression.com. Thanks for letting me share my experience.
Sandra Zimmer
Thanks, Tony, for these great tips. I will be speaking at a retreat for young ladies this weekend and it is my first public speaking event since I was a kid in 4-H. I can see that I have a few things to work on before the weekend, too.
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