Standing in front of even a small group of people and speaking can be downright intimidating. In what follows, I will talk about and explain just a few ways as to how this can be overcome. Like many other’s, I once struggled with speaking in front of people. Being that there are few powers greater than one’s ability to shape or influence the mind’s of a large group of people, overcoming this fear is paramount for anyone who seeks to become a better leader in their field. These are just a few of the methods I have used over the years that have greatly contributed to overcoming that fear.
- Be invested completely in your subject.
This aspect is key. Whether you are reading from a prepared statement, or speaking off-the-cuff, you are always in a heightened position of expertise or “comfort power,” when you speak about something that you are personally invested in. Without even realizing it you are instantly more confident than you would be otherwise, because you already have something that is key to the public speaker: Passion.
Whenever you are invested in something you are indelibly passionate about it. It only follows you are more comfortable and authoritative because you are speaking from your most confident streams of thought. When your subject is something you can talk to a best friend or a family member about, that is more than half the battle. See to it that you find an emotional attachment with whatever it is you are speaking about. The audience will feed off of what you have to say thereby encouraging your stride with every word. Once the audience is feeding off your passion, you are able to reciprocate and attune yourself to fulfilling their needs before they themselves are even consciously aware of what they are. Invest wisely, and you will earn the payoff from your audience.
2. Do a mental walk-through of your speech beforehand.
Visualization matters. The last thing you want to mentally picture is yourself struggling behind the podium. See yourself reading or speaking with confidence. You are perfectly poised. Calm. In control. The message you are presenting matters. Take pride in that. You have something important to share. The people out in the audience want to hear what you have to say. Use that to spark your enthusiasm because this is an opportunity for you in two ways. For one, you get to overcome your fear of speaking in front of others and do so with confidence. Secondly, you get to be the conduit by which important information is shared. You are important because you have something of value to share. This is more than making a speech. You are making a difference. These are all things you can take time to visualize over and over leading up to your engagement. This kind of preparation is just as important as rehearsing the speech itself.
Get in front of a mirror and practice. Read to yourself. If that is weird for you or makes you uncomfortable then do it in your car or at your desk. Typically, I practice my speaking standing up as rarely does one speak for an extended period while sitting. Also, I have found that if you can look yourself in the mirror, and do so comfortably, speaking in front of a live audience is that much easier.
As odd as it sounds, sometimes you have to get over your fear of yourself. One of the best ways to do that is to practice speaking in the mirror. If you feel awkward or uncomfortable that is not a bad thing because you are not alone in that regard. Many times, early on, I also felt the same way even if I was the only one home. The fear and doubt that crept in let me know then and there that I was being presented with an opportunity to better myself. Are you going to stand up and face it? Or are you going to hide away and wither in shame? That is the choice I gave myself facing myself in the mirror.
Now it will not be easy. But greatness is never easy. If it was, we would all be at our greatest all the time. Take the time and practice. Give yourself time to prepare and I promise you that you will surprise yourself. Rehearse in front of the mirror or in your car and run through it in your mind in front of your live audience. If you do this enough times you may be surprised by the ease in which you conduct yourself when it is time to make the actual speech.
3. SMILE.
Numerous studies have shown that feel good endorphins are released throughout the body when we smile. Even in the most stressful of situations, if you force yourself to smile, you can and often will feel better. Try this next time you cry. If you find yourself crying uncontrollably, stand straight up and tilt your head back until your eyes are facing the sky. Notice how your crying has suddenly subsided. Now–driving the point home, I want you to add smiling to that. Tilt your head back with your eyes looking straight up to the sky and smile. At this point if you are still crying you have undoubtedly noticed how much harder it is. There is power in your smile my friends. Hidden slumbering powers waiting to be released.
As you mentally visualize yourself speaking see yourself smiling in front of your audience. When you practice in front of the mirror, again, practice your smile. Get comfortable seeing your smile. When you smile, warmth should wash over you. Rest in the power and the grace and the confidence that is unique to your smile. Your smile is yours so own it. This all comes back to raising your perceived worth of your self-image. When you have a healthy perception of your self-worth, smiling is never an issue. Being comfortable with oneself is critical for successfully speaking in front of others.
To Conclude:
When you speak on something you’re invested in, you are both more likely to practice the actual speech and more likely to smile. They go hand-to-hand with one another. It is time for you to level yourself up from that struggle bus of fear. The more of your fears you can overcome, the more likely you can overcome your biggest obstacle of them all–Yourself.
Like every obstacle you face, it really is all about you. What is in your mind? What are you telling yourself? In actuality, you are not really conquering a fear of speaking in front of other’s. You are overcoming your own preconceived notions about yourself. Think about it. You do not have a fear of speaking and you do not have a fear of other’s. What you have to overcome are your own self-imposed limits that YOU and YOU alone set upon yourself.
To reach your full potential, you have to get over yourself. You must conquer yourself. That battle in your own mind must be overcome and you are the only one that can make that happen for yourself. Getting in front of a room full of people is one of the best examples of a battle that must be won from the mind first. Once you conquer your own negative thoughts, there is nothing that you cannot get done.
Imagine that… that speech you were so worried about making turned out to be a springboard for you to bring about the biggest changes of your life. That calls for a standing ovation.
–Daniel Cousin
