Why is the #1 Fear in America Public Speaking? Because those that excel in this discipline scare the pants off the rest of us! The ability to successfully present your ideas in front of an audience, whether it is 5 or 500, is a powerful skill to have in your negotiation tool belt. Here’s seven ways you can make your way from stage fright to stage star:
1. Plan and Prepare
Break the Ice—Plan to begin your presentation by warming up the audience with a relevant story or joke to break the ice.
Preparations—Consider the following questions to help yourself prepare:
- Purpose: What is the main point you are trying to get across to your audience? Are you giving an informative presentation to change an opinion and/or are you calling them to take action?
- Target: How informed is your audience already? Are they professionals on the subject, or is it entirely new to them?
- Environment: Where will you be giving your presentation and are there any constraints you need to consider? Is the venue indoors or outside? Will your audience be sitting or standing? Will the atmosphere be formal or relaxed?
Structure—Choose how to best structure your presentation:
- Timeline: Presenting in sequential order.
- Climax: Building up the presentation to revel the main point with a bang.
- Problem/Solution: Presenting the problem and then your solution.
- Classification: Main points are presented as the important ideas.
- Simple to Complex: Points are presented from simple to complex. May also be done in reverse order.
2. Use Visual Aids
The use of visual aids is almost always a good idea. Using visual stimuli gives your audience more than one way to absorb the information. This allows those who learn better with their eyes, than with their ears, a chance to further understand your point. The following are visual aids you may consider incorporating into your presentation:
- Power Point Presentations
- Short Video Clips
- Graphs/Charts
- Slides
- Handouts
- White Board Writing
3. Gauge Your Audience
Is your audience alert, engaged, and hanging on your every word? Or are they practically falling asleep, bored, and waiting for the end? Reading your audience and gauging their interest is a very important skill of a good presenter.
If they are into your speech, this can be a signal to keep going and close the deal (whatever that may be). If they are painfully staying in their seats, mix it up by calling for a five minute break. Restart the presentation when they return with excitement and energy! Hopefully your audience will follow suite.
4. Encourage Questions
Engage your audience and get them involved by encouraging them to ask questions. Depending on the structure of your presentation, you can let them ask questions throughout your presentation or save Q & A time for the end.
5. Kick Bad Habits
Since you are reading this, you probably haven’t perfected the art of presenting and need to do some major work on your public speaking skills. Most of us have one, or more, bad habits to kick before we get up in front of an audience to present. The following are the most common three and how you can get rid of them and move forward:
- Using Verbal Fillers: “Umm”, “Ahh”, and “Like” are all verbal fillers that many use in their speech, often without even knowing, especially when presenting in front of others. To identify if you struggle with this bad habit, start recording your phone conversations and go back later to listen for verbal filler violations. To kick this bad habit, practice your presentation in front of a friend or family member and have them ring a bell, blow a whistle, or in another way signal you to your misstep. Once you recognize the problem, you will start to automatically censor these fillers from your speech.
- Improper Use of Voice: Talking too fast, mumbling and stumbling over your words, and talking too quietly are common ways to kill an otherwise fantastic presentation. You don’t want to lose your audience just because they don’t understand what you are saying. Practice talking slow, enunciating your words, and speaking with gusto if you suspect that you struggle with improper use of voice.
- Annoying Body Language: Some people pace, others fidget, and there are those that go overboard with the hand gestures. Whatever your annoying body language habit is, you need to kick it now! When you practice, film your presentation and later review to see if this is an area in which you struggle. Once you are aware of the problem, it should begin to happen less.
6. Join a Public Speaking Club
Before you even have to think about your next opportunity to stand on the podium and present, join a public speaking club. The most renown and widespread club of this type is Toastmasters. If you are a student, you may also consider joining the debate team at your school for experience not only speaking in front of others, but also perfecting the art of persuasion.
7. Practice, Practice, Practice!
Practice is the key to success, especially when it comes to presenting in front of an audience. With practice, you will gain confidence, become more natural, and ultimately be able to persuade any audience. With enough practice you will be able to sell ice to an Eskimo (not that you should)!
How should you practice, you ask? Practice in front of the mirror, practice for the camera, practice for friends, family, your spouse, your kids, in your car… the point is to practice as much as you can, wherever you can, and for whoever you can!
i remember when i was still in high school, i always fear public speaking engagments.`.:
i think that everyone have a fear of public speaking in one way or another .’`