Overcoming the fear of public speaking is something that you might want to tackle but are afraid to do. So not only are you afraid of speaking in front of public, you don’t necessarily even want to figure out how to fix it. Maybe you don’t know how you could possibly get better at public speaking and figure you just aren’t good at it.
Is there anything that people fear more than public speaking?
The funny thing for me is that I used to dislike public speaking because I think I just figured I was supposed to hate it but the more I did it and the more practice I got, the more I liked it. And the better I performed during those presentations, too.
As a kid, we used to memorize poems and present them in front of our class once per year. The first few years, I dreaded this time of year because I was so afraid of forgetting my lines in front of my class. Twice I ended up doing my poem in front of the whole school as I’d made the school finals so clearly I wasn’t doing as badly as I had first projected.
In high school, we started doing class presentations more often so it was something I got to practice a fair bit.
In university, I had classes where we were graded on our participation – asking and answering questions during class, commenting on topics that we were discussing, etc – and also did group and individual presentations that often were worth upwards of 40%-50% of our grade.
By the time I started working following university, the presentations I did often involved presenting in front of executives, fellow colleagues or other people in the company. In some cases it was a formal presentation, in other cases it was more informal but was still a case where I was expected to speak in front of others and getting an important point across to them.
What did I notice about getting better and more comfortable with public speaking?
1. Practice makes perfect. It’s a common saying but I’ve found it to be true. The more opportunities I had to present in front of others early on in life, the more I liked it and the better I performed. If you’re already working and are trying to figure out how to not only practice your presentation skills but increase your profile in the company at the same time, offer to work on group projects, offer to present work with your boss or on behalf of your group or team if the opportunity arises, chair meetings where you’ll be expected to speak in front of others and start speaking up more often during group meetings if you tend to be silent.
2. Stop memorizing. I memorized poems as I mentioned above but that’s what poem recitals are about: memorization. Public speaking doesn’t have to be about memorizing complete speeches or thoughts or even typing out entire thoughts word for word and then reading them from a prompter or from cue cards. As I got more comfortable with public speaking, I found that even with a Powerpoint-style presentation, I could simply use short bullet points and then would know enough about the topic to expand on it without having to write it out word for word and therefore have to worry about mixing up cue cards or sounding like I was reading. Basically know your material, don’t memorize it.
3. Learn from others. Pay attention to people who are good public speakers and get advice from them. Pay attention to things that they do and you’ll probably notice that they (as mentioned above) know their subject matter and don’t need to memorize and also have a number of devices that they use that help them feel comfortable in front of their audience. I’ve borrowed things from other people who I thought were good presenters and incorporated them into my own presentations when necessary. You can do the same.
4. Hang around similarly-minded people. Toastmasters International is a worldwide organization dedicated to helping people with public speaking. You can search their website for a local chapter near you to learn more and about how to join. Their meetings involve a small number of people who each play a part in a presentation situation so you might find yourself in an actual presentation role or a critiquing role for example. By playing different roles, you not only get a chance to present in front of others who are also trying to improve their skills but you can critique others and get critiqued as well. Plus you get to learn from each other.
5. Know your audience and your environment. In this case, familiarity breeds confidence. Whenever possible, introduce yourself to people you’re presenting to when you haven’t met them before so they don’t seem like strangers. Also remember to arrive at the place you’re presenting to as early as possible to prepare. For me, this was key. I always used to worry about when I’d be presenting in a room or area I was unfamiliar with until I’d seen the venue in person. Once I got a sense of how big the room is, where I was situated relative to the audience, etc I felt more comfortable in my surroundings.
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