Public Speaking: Fear No More

“Public speaking is people’s number one fear. Their number two fear is death. Death is number two. That means if you’re at a funeral, it’s better to be in the casket than giving the eulogy.” Jerry Seinfeld. What a guy. And he’s right, people are terrified of public speaking, but they don’t have to be. Here are some tips on how to be a better public speaker:

Eye Contact:
It seems like a cliché to tell you to make eye contact with the audience. Clichés get said too many times for a reason: because they are true. Not only will this allow you to connect better with your audience, but with your head up facing your audience you can project much better as well.

Memorize, but if you are good at improv, don’t do it too much:
Make sure you learn what you are saying to people. If you don’t have cue cards or something in front of you to read off of, then make sure that you aren’t going to forget what you’re saying. However, when you over memorize something, you often don’t go up and present, you go up and recite. If you have the ability to improvise if you forget a few details, then don’t over memorize, it will take all the passion out of your presentation. If you can’t improvise, then just recite it, and work on your improvisation skills.

The audience isn’t better than you:
People are often worried as soon as they get up to the front because they are worried that if they screw up, that people will judge them. This is why they say to picture people in their underwear, so that you feel superior to them. Whatever works for you. If you don’t want to picture them in their underwear (as I don’t) then just tell yourself that the people in the audience are no better than you.

Focus on your breathing when nervous:
Next time you’re nervous, do this breathing exercise: flex your stomach muscles then focus on taking a deep breath. Hold the breath for about one full second, then release, all the time flexing your stomach muscles. Do this again, but this time, hold it for two full seconds. Now again, but for three seconds. Now breathe normally for about five seconds. Now? The tension is gone. Does this work because it releases something into the brain to relieve the stress? No. It relieves the stress because it takes your mind off the presentation.

People are terrified to get in front of people and just talk. That’s how you have to view public speaking, as simply getting in front of people and talking. You’re going to have to do it many more times in your life, I can assure you, so you better suck it up and practise at it. Just don’t forget to breathe.