Anxious about an upcoming speech that you have to give? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Although more people fear giving a speech in front of others than death, it is possible to learn how to prevent public speaking anxiety. One powerful technique to use to prevent public speaking anxiety is to visualize. Everyone visualizes before they give a speech, but chances are you are doing it incorrectly. Take a moment and think about the day when you will be giving your speech. What thoughts pop into your head? Take
a moment to think them over and write them down. Do any of your thoughts sound like this? “What if I make a mistake?” “What if I drop my notecards?” “What if no one laughs at my joke?” “What if people look bored?” “What if…?” “What if…” “What if…?” Every time you think of the future and you experience a “what if” moment, you are training your body to feel more nervous and your anxiety increases. You are conditioning yourself to do poorly. This ability has helped our ancestors in the past. Feelings of anxiety and the flee or fight preparation that our body utilizes are great when real danger is present. So be grateful that your body has the ability to warn you with anxiety, but know that it no longer serves its purpose. You need to let it go. You will need to train yourself to think in a different matter. It will take time, but do not give up. Every time you have a negative “what if” moment, say “stop it.” Interrupt the negative thought. Take control of it. Sing a song, do a silly dance, or talk to a friend. Recognize the thought for what it is and do not let it affect you. If you like, you can let the thought run on and assert your control by taking it to a ridiculous ending.
How to Prevent Public Speaking Anxiety Using the Power of Visualization
How to Improve Public Speaking: Four Tips that Will Turn You into an Expert Speaker
The great public speakers that you admire and wish you were like weren’t born that way. Anyone can become an expert speaker if you are willing to put in the time and effort and follow these four tips on how to improve public speaking. 1. Visualize Before your speech, imagine yourself standing in front of the others, sharing
with them the information that they desire. Feel good about yourself when you visualize. Don’t imagine yourself failing. Know that when the day comes you will be calm, confident, and will succeed. 2. Practice Can practice make perfect? Not quite, but it will make it close if you practice correctly. Don’t feel that you must have your speech and gestures completely memorized. Over-practicing can be as bad as not practicing at all! Spend some of your practice time with preparation. Instead of writing out your entire speech, use notecards to outline the important points of your speech. Practice from these notecards until you are comfortable with the flow of your speech. If possible, practice in front of friends or family a few times. If no one is available to listen to you, turn yourself into your own audience and practice in front of the mirror. 3. Record Use a camcorder to record yourself giving speeches. This way you will be able to look at your performance objectively. Did you put your hands in your pockets? Did you use filler phrases such as “uh” and “like” too often? Don’t worry about the mistakes that you made. If you were already a perfect public speaker you wouldn’t have to practice! Be sure to find positive things about your speech giving as well. Approach someone who is experienced at public speaking and ask if they could give you any pointers after watching a few minutes of the tape. Many people will love to help and will be flattered that you consider them an expert. If you are uncomfortable approaching your expert, have some friends evaluate you instead. If they also want to know how to improve public speaking you can form a group and everyone can record themselves and do a group evaluation. 4. Join a Group