Ever had a humiliating experience with public speaking? Don’t mope around it. Guess what, it is part of the journey. It’s a step that every inspirational public speaker has gone through in honing public speaking skills.
In fact, even some veterans in public speaking still admit that they get cold feet or nervous a few moments prior to giving a public speech.
Public speaking is not an inborn quality for a majority of people or rather the luminary public speakers. Therefore, the restlessness that numbs your body in stage performance is normal.
More: Signs of a Confident Man
Fortunately, it is that adrenaline influx that should be converted into the energy and confidence that makes you an icon in public speaking.
According to the Harvard research institute, you can practice reframing your anxiety into excitement rather than calming them down.
The one and only fundamental quality that is common among public speakers is confidence. The narrative ‘have confidence’ is a very sensitive topic in the dating market, but you realize that confidence is a very necessary prerequisite in almost all aspects of life.
However, they don’t tell you that confidence is a result of consistent progressive development in its practice. You cannot have confidence without building it over time.
The best part about building confidence in public speaking is that it doesn’t really have to be a gradual process. You want to build your confidence in public speaking; here is an absolute guide that will bring the best out of you.
1) Preparation
Preparation for public speaking sets the motion and balance for everything that ensues heretofore.
You need to consider so many vital things during preparation that make it at the top of the list of the ingredients needed in building confidence in public speaking.
During preparation, you should conduct a detailed soul-searching and cross-check the following:
• Embarrassing past experience with public speaking
You may have frozen at the stage during your past public speaking event due to too much anxiety. A memory of such circumstances keeps on tormenting your conscious whenever you are about to embark on the same practice that triggered you to freeze.
Therefore, you may want to make peace with such traumatizing memories before you step on the dais. Convince yourself that you are better than that or rather find a confidant to clear the air.
• Have reminiscence on a past public speaking event that you rocked
A good memory is always a catalyst in boosting confidence whenever you are about to face an equivalent circumstance.
Therefore, recollect on the positive memories to convince yourself that it is not any different than the next one.
Generally, our memory is categorically biased such that we tend to keep bad memories for long and forget the good ones. In that case, it is, therefore, noteworthy to write down the things that made you successful in your last presentation and how you felt during the session.
Such notes can prepare you in advance for what you should improve on to avoid any setbacks.
• Reassure yourself
The best way to do this is to have a pep talk with yourself. It might sound funny, but talking positively about yourself imposes prospective chances of doing better in whatever you do.
As a good public speaker, you must learn to speak honestly to yourself and address those flaws that hinder your performance.
Price asserts that harnessing the body and mind’s power can give you the leverage of overtraining your thoughts to impact your natural stimuli positively.
• Conduct empirical research on the topic
Adequate information on the topic gives you a wider perspective of the kind of audience to expect and the primary points to enumerate.
Researching on the respective topic will boost your confidence since you have sufficient information on what to talk about.
On some occasions, you get to the stage and realize that you have forgotten what you are supposed to say, and that is the moment your confidence level starts to plummet rapidly.
Therefore, the best way to master what to talk about is to write them down and practice before the main event.
This involves reading the speech loud enough to analyze your points and pronunciation errors. Any public speaker always reads their speech loud a number of times a day or hours to the main event.
2) Rehearse
It is recommended that you rehearse before the main event to ensure that you correct all the mistakes in your speech and self-presentation.
Public speaking drains a lot of energy if you do not prepare adequately; therefore, rehearse even before your family members to confirm if you are ready.
You may not figure out the mistakes in your facial expressions, but they would definitely and advise you on where to adjust.
3) Make Eye Contact with the Audience
While on the stage, acclimatizing with the environment is a determinant factor in how you are going to proceed. Therefore, an easy way to feel welcome is to make eye contact with the audience and smile.
Connecting with the audience through smile and eye contact makes you more comfortable since it changes the whole session into a conversation session rather than you-addressing–them a session.
4) Do Not Focus on the Mistakes
Sometimes the whole experience can be flawless, but you never know therefore preparing for the unknown is irrefutable. Having contingencies in public speaking keeps your confidence at its optimum.
Chances of making mistakes are always higher than having a free pass, but the easiest way to bring attention to insignificant challenges is to revisit those challenges. Therefore, in public speaking, it is advisable to avoid fixating on mistakes.
Most of the time, the audience rarely notices the mistakes, and the few who also notice it also let it slide when you also do the same.
When you focus on correcting the mistake, you risk losing the connection with your audience, and that affects your confidence significantly.
Conclusion
Public speaking doesn’t really have to be complicated if you have your confidence in check. Let’s hope that this guide helps you in preparing for your next public speaking event.
Generally, the more you practice those steps, the better you become at public speaking, therefore, practice as much as possible until you feel confident about yourself.
Lastly, I hope you find this guide helpful, if you do make sure to subscribe to our email newsletter below to never miss the latest tips and hacks to improve yourself.
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