Tag Public Speaking

Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking

Steve Keating Leave a comment

According to the National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC), “the fear of public speaking is the most common phobia. It’s even more common than the fear of death.” That means that when someone says they would rather die than speak in public, they are likely telling the truth. At least statistically speaking.

Glossophobia is the fear of public speaking. Many new speakers, and even some experienced ones, feel it. They feel it when they’ve been tasked with presenting to an audience.

Overcoming the fear of public speaking is a common challenge. But it can be managed with several strategies. Here are some of the more effective approaches.

Preparation and Practice

• Know Your Material: Be thoroughly familiar with your content. This helps build confidence as you won’t be worried about forgetting what to say. I have coached many a nervous presenter and have told them all the same thing: if you know what you’re talking about, then you have no reason to be worried. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then you have no reason to be talking.

• Rehearse: Practice your talk multiple times. Rehearse in front of a mirror, record yourself, or present to friends and family. But, and this is key, never, never, never memorize your presentation. There are too many things that can interrupt your concentration during a presentation. If you’re working off a memorized script, that interruption most often leads to doom.

Develop a Routine

• Pre-Talk Rituals: Develop a routine that calms you, such as deep breathing, meditation, or light stretching. My own routine is pretty simple, slam a Diet Coke and enjoy the awesome people you’re about to connect with.

• Arrive Early: Familiarize yourself with the venue and technology to reduce last-minute stress. Running in at the last minute is never a good idea. Even if you’re an experienced presenter, showing up at the last minute will screw up the flow of your presentation, at least for the critical first few minutes.

Positive Thinking

• Shift Focus: Concentrate on delivering value to your audience rather than on your performance. This helps take the pressure off yourself. People have asked me how I can charge so much for a presentation. I just let them know I charge for the value I’m certain I’ll leave behind. While I can’t guarantee their teams will always use the value, I can guarantee the value will be there.

• Affirmations: Use positive affirmations to boost your confidence. Remind yourself that you are prepared and capable. If you’re preparing for your second presentation just remind yourself you didn’t die the first time so the odds are, you won’t die this time either.

Learn and Improve

• Seek Feedback: After your talk, ask for constructive feedback to learn what worked and what can be improved. Be open-minded here. Even if the feedback was hurtful and meant to be harsh. You can still use it to see if it shows a path to improvement.

• Join Public Speaking Groups: Consider joining groups like Toastmasters, where you can practice speaking in a supportive environment.

Understand Your Audience

• Know Your Audience: Understand the needs and expectations of your audience. This helps tailor your talk and reduces anxiety about their reaction. Never do a “cold” presentation, the more you know about the people you’re speaking with, the “warmer” your audience will be right from the start.

• Engage with the Audience: Start with a question, a story, or an interesting fact to engage your audience and make the experience more interactive. And don’t wait for the presentation to begin, engage your audience before you begin by introducing yourself to as many people in the audience as possible as they enter the room. This allows you to use a few of their names during your presentation and creates an instant connection with the entire audience.

Incremental Exposure

• Start Small: Begin by speaking in smaller, less intimidating settings and gradually move to larger audiences. There are like a gazillion groups, Chambers of Commerce, Rotarians, and tons of other service organizations that are always looking for speakers. These kinds of meetings provide excellent opportunities for “live” practice. And I can’t recall a single news story about a speaker being killed because their presentation to a group of Rotarians sucked. Of course, it helps that Rotarians are nice people.

• Expand Your Comfort Zone: Regularly challenge yourself to speak in front of new groups to build resilience and confidence over time. The more often you speak to groups, the more often you’ll look forward to speaking in front of groups. The more you look forward to speaking in front of groups, the more likely you are to be asked to speak. It’s a momentum that can even lead to a speaking career.

Professional Help

• Training Courses: Enroll in public speaking courses or workshops to gain professional guidance and tips. Many of you know I was with the Dale Carnegie Organization for several years early in my career. I saw many people change from a shy, very uncomfortable presenter to a dynamic communicator. They could speak well one-on-one and to groups of almost any size. I have nothing to gain from recommending a Dale Carnegie speaking course. I would only gain the pleasure of knowing that I helped someone beat their fear of speaking in front of groups. I highly recommend Dale Carnegie Training to this day.

I have done literally thousands of presentations over the years. To small groups on a beach in Hawaii to huge crowds in an NFL stadium. I’ve had every experience possible happen while speaking in front of groups. Today, it’s as easy and enjoyable as anything I do.

While you may find it hard to believe, by combining these strategies, it can be that easy for you as well. Yes, you! You can gradually overcome your fear of public speaking and become a more confident and effective speaker.

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How to be a More Effective Public Speaker

Steve Keating Leave a comment

Becoming a better public speaker is a skill that can be developed and refined over time. It takes work but the effort required is worth it in a myriad of ways. Improving your public speaking skills can make you a better communicator, boost your confidence, and help you connect with others.  Here are some tips and strategies to help you become a better public speaker and communicator.

• Practice: The most crucial step in improving your public speaking skills is to practice regularly. Rehearse your presentation multiple times to become more comfortable with the material and your delivery.

• Know your audience: Understand who you will be speaking to and tailor your message to their needs and interests. This will help you connect with your audience on a more personal level.

• Organize your content: Structure your speech or presentation logically, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Use transitions to guide your audience through your content.

• Start with a strong opening: Begin your speech with an attention-grabbing introduction. You can use a quote, a story, a surprising fact, or a thought-provoking question to engage your audience from the start.

• Use visual aids: Visual aids, such as slides, can help clarify complex ideas and make your presentation more engaging. Just be sure not to overload your slides with text and avoid reading them word for word. Your slides support your presentation, they are not your presentation. Never turn your back on your audience to read your slides cause when you turn back around they may be gone.

• Practice good body language: Pay attention to your posture, gestures, and facial expressions. Maintain eye contact with your audience, and use your body language to convey confidence and enthusiasm.

• Control your voice: Speak clearly and at a moderate pace. Vary your tone, pitch, and volume to keep your audience’s attention. Avoid speaking too fast or too softly.

• Eliminate filler words: Minimize the use of “um,” “uh,” “like,” and other filler words. Practice pausing instead of using filler words, as this can make your speech sound more confident and polished.

• Know your material: Become an expert on the topic you are speaking about. This will boost your confidence and allow you to handle questions and challenges more effectively. Here’s the reality of public speaking. If you know what you’re talking about you have no need to be nervous. If you don’t know what you’re talking about you have no need to be speaking.

• Engage the audience: Encourage interaction by asking questions, sharing anecdotes, and involving the audience in your presentation. This can make your presentation more interactive and relatable.

• Seek feedback: Record your speeches or presentations and review them to identify areas for improvement. You can also ask for feedback from trusted friends, mentors, or colleagues.

• Learn from others: Watch and learn from skilled public speakers. Analyze their techniques and adapt them to your style.

• Keep learning: Public speaking is a lifelong learning process. Stay updated on effective communication strategies and continually work on enhancing your skills.

Remember that becoming a better public speaker takes time and practice. Don’t get discouraged by occasional setbacks, and keep working on your skills to become a more confident and effective communicator.

The Challenge of Public Speaking

Steve Keating 3 Comments

Most people would prefer not to speak in front of a bunch of people. That might be an understatement. Research shows that on the list of people’s biggest fears death is number five and speaking in front of groups is number one. So when people say they would rather die than speak in front of a group they are very serious. 

 

Years ago when I was with the Dale Carnegie Organization people would contact us looking for help with learning to speak in front of groups. When they heard the classes required them to actually speak in front of the class many of them became uninterested rather quickly. 

 

Here’s the first challenge with public speaking…you must speak in public to learn to speak in public. You may learn how to outline a presentation or how to open or close a presentation from reading a book but learning to speak can only come from speaking. If anyone tries to sell you a public speaking class that doesn’t involve speaking be very careful because next they will be trying to sell you ocean front property…in Montana. 

 

Face it, learning to speak in front of groups will require two things, a group and you speaking in front of it. 

 

So here’s a few ideas to make that learning process a bit less scary.

 

Admit you’re a little nervous but don’t apologize for it. Most of the people in your audience would be just as nervous as you, if they had the courage to even try. Admitting to some nervousness will help your audience be more understanding if a flub or stammer finds its way into your presentation.

 

Understand that your audience didn’t come to see you fail. They are rooting for you to do well. They are on your side and are willing to give you the opportunity to do well without being too critical.

 

Use PowerPoint as it was intended to be used. It is not your notes and it is not a shield to hide behind. It is not your presentation either. It merely compliments your presentation. It should help simplify difficult concepts through the use of visuals. 

 

If a slide is full of words then you don’t need that slide. If you feel the need to apologize for a slide being an “eye chart” then don’t use that slide. If you don’t have a definitive purpose for a particular slide then don’t use that particular slide. 

 

Share the real you. I have spoken in front of groups large and small more times than I could ever remember but I have never given a speech. I simply talk with the people in front of me like we’ve known each other for a long time. Even if I’ve never seen them before.

 

Do not try to be something or someone you’re not. You may fool some of the people once in a while but it is more likely that you are only fooling yourself. 

 

Never try to memorize your presentation. You may pull that off once or twice but the list of things that can go wrong when you try to memorize a presentation word for word is so long I can’t mention them all. 


Above all else know your subject. If you know what you’re talking about you have nothing to fear. If you don’t know what you’re talking about then you have no reason to be talking at all.


Public Speaking for Non Speakers

Steve Keating 8 Comments

Public Speaking! The mere words back-to-back send shivers the down spine of most people. On the list of a human being’s biggest fears public speaking is nearly always in first or second place and the fear of death is no higher than sixth. So when people say they would rather die than speak in front of a group they aren’t kidding, at least statistically speaking.

I’m in front of groups often but I’ve never made a speech. I do talks. One of the keys to successfully speaking in front of large groups of people is to realize that you’re not talking at them, you’re talking with them. It’s a bit of a one-sided conversation but still, it’s just a conversation. Making it more than that only makes it harder on you, the presenter.

Your fear of speaking in front of a group will subside in direct proportion to the amount of preparation you put into your talk. That said, you should also know that’s is possible to over prepare. I’m often asked how long it takes me to prepare for an hour or two talk. The truth is I spend very little time preparing for an individual presentation but on the other hand, I’ve spent decades preparing to speak on the subject.

While preparing to speak in front of a group here is one absolute no-no. Never, and I mean never, memorize your presentation. If you absolutely must read it then read it but never attempt to memorize it. So many things can go wrong with a memorized presentation that I couldn’t begin to list them all here.

Here’s a public speaking truth for you: if you know what you’re talking about you have no reason to be nervous, if you don’t know what you’re talking about you have no reason to be speaking. You cannot be effective in front of a group talking about something you know very little about. If you don’t know your subject inside and out no amount of preparation will hide that fact from your audience.

The best way to be effective in front of a group is to just be real, be yourself. Don’t think you need to be perfect to be effective. It’s okay to stumble here or there, to misuse a word and have to correct yourself. It’s okay to be less than perfect because it gives you one more thing in common with your audience. Nobody is perfect.

Never use three words when you can say it effectively in two. A great speaker doesn’t count their words, they weigh them. Big, seldom heard words are not the secret to success in speaking, they are the reason for lost audiences. Just talk the way you would to a friend, big words don’t make you an effective speaker, connecting and truly communicating with your audience does that. If you have to look up a word to know what it means, don’t use it in a talk because your audience might not have a dictionary handy.

Most importantly have fun. I try to never lose sight of what an honor it is to be trusted to speak in front of a group. If someone else has that amount of trust in you then you can surely have it in yourself. No audience goes to hear a speaker hoping that the speaker will fail, your audience wants you to succeed almost as much as you do. They are on your side. Have fun with your presentation, if you’re having a good time presenting your information it’s much more likely that your audience will enjoy hearing it.

Lastly, remember people seldom actually die from speaking in front of groups. Oh wait, I guess it’s that “seldom” part that’s the problem.😏