Do you shake when speaking in public? Do you feel butterflies in your stomach when you have to present? Do you have a rapid heartbeat when facing the crowd?
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that about 73% of the population has an intense fear of public speaking. It is a common phobia, called Glos-so-phobia: fear of the tongue.
Basic mantra to overcome your fear of public speaking: The 3 P’s
- Prepare
Be well prepared with your content from the beginning till the end. How are you going to present it? Be well organized and go step by step from Introduction to Body and then to Closing. Start with a hook intro. Talk about evidence to support your argument. End with a convincing conclusion.
- Practice
Your smartphone is a perfect device to help you start with practice. Record! Replay the video and judge your performance. How comfortable do you look? How confident do you sound? Are you using too many filler words like hmm, uff, ahh? Practice daily at least with a 1-minute video.
Watch other great talks, professional speeches, and motivational videos that will motivate you.
- Perform
It is okay to be nervous in your first speech. It is okay to forget your content once. But, if you are talking about your expertise or the content you know, don’t let anything affect your performance. Do not overthink how you look, how many people are watching you, and what if you go blank. Don’t let distractions define you. Focus on your topic, focus on what you want to deliver. Practicing daily, and preparing your content will lead to better performance.
Basics to know about how to Prepare for Public Speaking:
Know your subject, know your content.
How are you going to deliver to your audience? How to present?
Hook – Introduction
The initial part includes a greeting, a credibility statement, and a preview of the main points.
Body – Supporting evidence
This is where you state the point, present the supporting evidence, and there is the transition to the next point.
Knockout – Powerful conclusion
This is where you present a summary of your speech. End with a thank you note. There is a call to action.
Let’s walk through 5 steps for preparation for Public speaking
1. Determining your objective/purpose
- What is the topic?
- Who is your audience?
- Specify your objective
. 2. Brainstorming and generating ideas
- .Make an outline of what you want to deliver and how
- Concept Mapping of what you want to present
3. Researching your ideas
Primary sources: First-hand evidence. Eg. If you are researching the past you can get the information from photos, letters, newspapers, etc.
Secondary sources: Second-hand Resources (Taken from other research). Books, articles, journals, reviews, documentaries, etc.
4. Planning and organizing your content
Plan on how to present creative content; through visuals, interactions, active participation, Q/A sessions, and humor. Organize it from the beginning, the body to the conclusion.
5. Practicing and delivering
Don’t spend hours preparing for presentations but very little time for practice. The more you practice, the less you utter the words like umm, ahh, like, you know.
It is obvious that at one point in life, there will come a time when you have to put your voice across. Good speaking skills will help you go ahead in a professional setting.
It is okay to have public speaking anxiety at first. But, if this is something you have to do regularly, learn how you can prepare yourself for your next speech:
- Practice and prepare extensively
- Look at the mirror, see yourself, and practice
- Work on your breathing
- Practice in front of your family members
- Keep calm and stay relaxed
- Don’t overthink how the audience would react
- Speak slowly with a pause after every full stop or a coma
- Practice again
Any form of speech should not be talking about you but talking to the audience to make them understand what you are conveying.