One of the most common fears that people have is the fear of public speaking. In fact on most top 10 lists, the fear of public speaking is listed ahead of the fear of death. I know that was the case for me.
I remember when I was in College and University, whenever I took a class that required a group or solo presentation in order to pass the course, I would have nightmares about it for the entire semester. The day of the presentation would come and I would start thinking of all the ways I might be able to get out of doing it. I was sick…my grandmother died….I’ve got laryngitis…none of which were true but I couldn’t help trying to think of a way of getting out of my worst nightmare.
Every time, I would go ahead and present but I was awful and uncontrollably nervous each time. Once I got out into the corporate world, it didn’t get any better. In fact, in meetings if we were doing a round table for our opinions I would practically shit myself knowing that I would have to try and say something intelligent in a professional setting.
Eventually I got fed up with it and decided I needed to overcome my fear of public speaking and so I joined Toastmasters. If you’re not familiar with Toastmasters, google it. The organization has been around since 1905 and has chapters all over the world. They have a proven method for helping people overcome their fear of public speaking.
I can tell you that Toastmasters was huge in helping me to overcome my fear of public speaking. After being a member for a couple years, I was able to speak up in corporate meetings confidently and stand up in front of a variety of audiences and deliver a professional speech.
The problem was that once I stopped going to Toastmasters meetings (after my son was born), I wasn’t getting the regular practice and so although I had built up many positive public speaking experiences in my memory banks by that point, the nerves came back when I had to speak in front of a group again a few years later.
So aside from Toastmasters, below are 4 tips to managing my nervousness when I speaking in front of a group, recording a video for YouTube, doing group coaching or live video.
- Don’t Make Perfection Your Goal
One reason most people are fearful of public speaking is because they are afraid of making a mistake in front of a group of people. But the thing is that if you make a mistake or accidentally omit part of your speech, your audience probably won’t even know.
And, because public speaking is such a common fear for people, most of the people watching your talk will automatically see you in a positive light simply because you’ve had the nerve to get up and share your knowledge in a public forum.
Furthermore, if you make perfection your goal, you will put way too much pressure on yourself and add to your nervousness. Relax and know that even if you make a mistake, you can laugh it off or make a joke about it and your audience will find you much more relate-able. - Choose a Topic That You’re Knowledgeable About
If you try to do a talk on a subject that is new to you, you will have a much harder time preparing for your talk (because you’ll have to do a lot more research) and, the likelihood that you will make a mistake increases tenfold along with your level of anxiety.
When you choose a topic that you are knowledgeable about, you will feel more relaxed because if you lose your place in your talk, you will be better able to ad lib your way through it. Further, when it comes to Q&A time, you will feel more confident being able to answer questions about things you may not have included in your talk.
When you choose to speak on a topic you are both knowledgeable and passionate about, your overall energy is better. This energy helps to engage your audience and make your talk more memorable as well. - Don’t Read from Your Notes and Don’t Memorize Every Word
Your audience will be much more engaged when you can make eye contact with them. So if you are reading from your notes, although you can look up from them from time to time, you will be more likely to lose your place.
And, trying to memorize every part of your speech is a bad idea if you’re nervous about public speaking because, your nerves might cause you to go blank right in the middle of it. Your anxiety will increase because, you will may be fearful about forgetting some part of your speech.
Instead, practice your speech several times with notes and then jot down in point form all the major points you want to make on a piece of paper or on a cue card. My rule of thumb for practicing a speech (depending on the length of it) is 10 times. So make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare beforehand so that you can practice your full speech enough times to feel ready to deliver it. - Get Support From a Coach
If public speaking still feels like a nightmare to you, get support from someone who can help you overcome your fears. Phobias can be multi faceted and so getting support from someone who can help you identify and release your blocks and the various aspects of your fear may be what you need.
I use EFT Tapping to help my clients overcome their public speaking fears because it worked so well for me. Tapping addresses the fight/flight stress response so that you can release the anxiety and any related traumas you may have experienced in the past.
So although I was a Toastmaster in the past and had got to the point where I felt quite confident with public speaking, after I had been out of practice for a few years, the anxiety came back when I had to do some training across Canada for my corporate job.
Although I knew my topic inside and out because I worked with the products I was presenting about on a daily basis, I was still quite nervous about having to do all that public speaking in front of groups of 50-100 people in each city.
And, to top it off, the VP of Sales was in attendance during one of those training sessions so the pressure was really on. I used tapping to ease my fears each morning in my hotel room and each time, my presentation went off without a hitch.
Recently, I worked with a client who was very fearful about doing live video. After tapping through the emotional and mental blocks as well as physical reactions to stress around public speaking she felt confident enough to go on live video for the first time!! I’m so proud of her for overcoming something she felt a lot of resistance and fear around.
If you struggle with being visible in your business and find you are putting off putting yourself out there to promote your business and share your gifts, I invite you to book a free money breakthrough session with me.
I help service based female entrepreneurs with the mental and emotional part of growing their business. I empower you to take the steps you need to grow your business and your income without grinding it out and sacrificing your health, sanity and time with loved ones.
Don’t put off your dreams any longer, book your free strategy session here.
To Your Success!
Certified Tapping Into Wealth Coach
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