How to overcome your fear of public speaking?
"How to stop being afraid of public speaking?"- This issue is relevant for people of different ages and professions. The first time a person is faced with the need to speak in public at school, and if there, the performance in front of classmates was uncomfortable for you, such thoughts are appearing in your mind like "I'm afraid", "I don't want", then already at work, presenting certain information to a large audience, to be put in this position for you is a stress.
There are several ways to overcome fear:
1. You need to understand the source of fear. The source may be a lack of knowledge of what might happen during your speech to the audience. Before starting the performance, there is a fear to do something wrong, to make a mistake. It is necessary to remember that listeners wish you success. If you came on stage with the right information and presented it quite clearly, you are half way to overcome your inner fear.
2. Be well prepared. Obviously, an important aspect in public is excellent knowledge of the material. Also, you need to know the topic and text of the speech as well as you know your audience. If you know what to say and to whom, you have nothing to fear. Knowing the subject will bring you more confidence and credibility.
3. Exercises. Practice your material in front of people or at home in front of a mirror. You can also record your performance to understand what you need to work on later. Before starting the performance, do breathing exercises, a few deep breaths, they calm not only the body but also your mind. To relieve muscle tension, you will help a small warm-up.
4. Realize that people don't notice your anxiety. During the performance, it seems obvious that people see how worried you are. In fact, it is hardly noticeable, if it is manifested only for a fraction of a second. Don't worry about it.To trick your brain, you have to convince it that you are absolutely confident. To do this, keep your back straight, spread your shoulders widely, look into the eyes of the audience to maintain contact with them and smile. Even if you don't feel so happy or confident, do so.
5. Something went wrong. There is a high probability that there may be technical problems, for example, the microphone or projector will stop working. Being in this situation, it is important not to panic, raise your voice and continue speaking confidently, because you are well prepared. The technical staff will fix the problems with the equipment. You don't have to worry about it.
If you make a mistake, it is important not to focus on this, you should calmly continue to present your material. Most likely, the audience did not even notice it. If you admit your mistake, people can consciously look for flaws in your speech, which will distract you and them from the essence of the main topic.
We hope that after reading these methods, you will be able to overcome your fear, and public speaking will no longer be a problem for you. Be confident and it works out right!
28.10.2018