Public speaking, the bane of everyone’s existence, almost every stage of your life requires you to do it, when you bring your favourite toy to show and tell, your first group presentation in secondary school, your last ever presentation in university, or whichever job you have, it’s likely you’ll have to speak in front of a crowd or even a couple people. Giving your pitch at the company you work at or giving a speech at the Grammy’s (if you ever end up there), regardless of whichever stage you’re at in life, public speaking can be a daunting experience, riddling you with anxiety “what would everyone think?”, “Do I look stupid right now?”, “Is there something on my face?”, “Do I sound stupid?”.
A study from the NIH suggests that public speaking is one of, if not the most common fear in the general population. With more than 61% of university students feeling anxious when public speaking. All of these thoughts tend to plague our minds when speaking, this little guide I wrote up here will attempt to soothe the jittery voice in your mind replaying the scary stares the crowd gives you.
Illustration by Hafise
1. Breathe
I know I know…it’s cliche when someone tells you “Oh just breathe you’ll be fine,” but really, before you present, try shutting your eyes and inhaling through your nose and out through your mouth. This will ease your nerves; breathing disconnects your body from reality…it resets you in a way if you do it properly, a deep inhale through the nostrils and a deep exhale through the mouth can often ground you, I know it’s not as easy as it sounds but there’s no harm in giving it a try, always remember to take breaks if needed! Don’t push yourself too hard
Photo by Brett Jordan
2. Swap the roles around
Just think, even though you’re on stage or in front of a class, people think you’re bold for speaking up, they admire your determination to want to speak on stage, even if you may not appear the most confident, some people may still perceive you as confident, if they can then you can too! Just imagine you’re watching someone speak or perform on stage, and you immediately think to yourself “Wow they seem really confident,” which will in turn make you feel more confident, people’s perception of you is often positive, and is not as bad as you may think, so if you imagine yourself as a member of the audience, it may help to boost self-perception and self-image! Because you need to remember you are not as horrible as your mind tells you.
Illustration by Unsplash
3. Don’t look anyone in the eye, dart between different people
Fixating on eyeballs is often the root of all anxiety, feeling like all your hard work for this presentation is being judged harshly? If you don’t look them in the eyes, you may feel less pressure, no eyes mean no judgement, right? But you obviously don’t want to avoid any audience engagement at all, just don’t fixate on people’s eyeballs, it helps to reduce tension and prevent your mind from spiralling
4. Rehearse in front of trusted friends and family
Image by Hayley Murray
You can take the rehearsal approach with your trusted friends and family, since it’s almost guaranteed they won’t judge you, well at least I hope so, apart from if you have something on your face they definitely won’t judge you (I hope not) son even if you stutter or forget your script its no big deal you can just try again and that’s. All that matters in the moment. Practicing around family and friends can help to build confidence without feeling ashamed and you can improve speaking vastly by doing this method and if you make mistakes along the way you can easily identify them and fix them on the spot, not having to feel embarrassed in a pressured environment, your home is a safe place to freely mess up, mess up as many times as needed until you get it just right!
And that just about sums up this guide, public speaking is such a common practice that almost every human being has to endure, to some it’s the worst thing you could ever imagine and to some it’s a fun activity, however we were all nervous once, everyone learns to become confident, nobody is born confident.