A person speaking in front of an audience often feel threaten by others. This is generally due to the fact that we all feel juged when “performing” our speech. This is why you should learn how to dissociate yourself from the current event so you can have better control over yourself in these cases. This dissociation can be easily done using different tips and techniques which will help you to prevent this stress from occuring during a presentation.
1. Know the room. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
2. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
3. Know your material. If you’re not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.
4. Relax. Ease tension by doing exercises.
5. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
6. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining. They don’t want you to fail.
7. Don’t apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience’s attention to something they hadn’t noticed. Keep silent.
8. Concentrate on the message — not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties, and outwardly toward your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.
9. Turn nervousness into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.
10. Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need.
Now here’s my personal comment about each of these:
1. I wouldn’t say that to know the room would really help you in any way to perform a speech, so this tips is not really that great except if you really have trouble when performing in new environments.
2. Knowing the audience can greatly help some while it can be the opposite for others. Like I said before, while performing a speech, you can feel threatened, even by your friends. This occurs to people who generally get stressed-out fast. I think it’s much easier to speak to strangers than people you know because your making yourself an image, a first impression, and it’s great to share a good image (if you are prepared, otherwise good luck).
3. This should be the most important aspect of public speaking. If you don’t know what you’re going to say, why do you do it?
4. Relaxation is a interesting way to to make sure things will go smoothly. If you feel stressed at the beginning, the audience might also feel a bit stressed too because they will somehow absorb your mood. Being relax will make them relax, and so will it be reflected on you.
5. Visualisation is great if you’re not sure how you should do your presentation. By refining each step of your speech, you’ll have a growing confience which is what you’re aiming for.
6. That is so true. People who are in front generally would think the opposite, others want them to fail. Why would they? Are they paid to do so? Would they gain anything from doing so? If so, you should show them you have control over them.
7. Keep silent what is silent. When I’m listening to someone doing a speech, I don’t want him/her to tell me he/she is having trouble talking, even though I can see it. It just emphasize his/her errors.
8. You generally feel nervous at the beginning of a presentation and then you feel like you have the power. Your goal is to start out strong so people get intrigued with what’s coming next. Provide great content, nice examples and some jokes and you’re on your way to success.
9. If you can do that, do it. Otherwise, keep your stress the lowest level possible. It will dissipate when you feel okay with the audience.
10. Experience sure helps when speaking in front of an audience. If you know that you could screw up something and get back on your feet in seconds, would you be afraid? No.
To sum it up, public speaking is a task everyone should attempt at least at once simply for the experience. Many stand-up comics say they LOVE the stress that comes before a show, so can you! Have fun spreading your knowledge or whatever your talking about because people are there just for you. If they weren’t, why the hell are they there for?