Public speaking tips. TIP 1

vor 7 Monaten

      The thought of doing something is often worse than actually doing it.

TIP 1. Overcoming public speaking phobia: First step.

For many people public speaking is their worst phobia. The second worst is dying. So, if you dread speaking in public, you're not the only one. Everyone gets nervous in such situations.

This is a complex communication issue, so let’s break it into manageable solutions.
It’s time to change your mindframe: move your attention away from the thought “They will think I’m a terrible speaker” to the thought “I know exactly what I have to say.”
Work on moving your focus from your weakness to your strength.

Your negative internal thoughts stem from focusing on your weaknesses–which makes you feel insecure–to your strengths, which make you feel self-confident.
When we feel confident internally we can project that externally as well.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you are preparing to make a presentation in English, it being your second language. You might be focusing internally on this idea: 

                                    “My English is not good enough.” 

Forget about whatever your shortcomings are in English, leave that for another time when your goal is to improve your English, because that is not your goal right now. Your goal now is to deliver your presentation as best as you can. Focus on your strengths: the content of your presentation, where you know you can excel.

Once you focus on what you are going to say, your self-confidence mode will instantly kick in and rein in your entire presentation. And, for that little extra boost, make sure you work on the structure of your presentation as well.

Then, if you need to work on your English, dedicate specific time to it, by all means–just don’t focus on that during your presentation, that is not the right time to worry about your English.

Next post will talk about Preparing for your presentation: solve some issues first.