A fear of public speaking is arguably the biggest hurdle one can experience while trying to improve their leadership skill. Trying to manage speaking anxiety can be a real challenge for everyone. However, it is a whole other story when your work requires you to speak in front of a large group of people.
Fortunately, there are ways to overcome the fear of public speaking. If you’re struggling with building confidence and harnessing your leadership skills, read on.
How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking?
First of all, it is important that you’re not the only one who struggles with public speaking. In fact, it is a common form of anxiety that can affect around 15% to 30% of the general population. In addition to that, over 75% of the people would experience some degree of nervousness when put in a position where they have to speak in front of a group.
Therefore, your fear is entirely normal. The bigger issue is that people who struggle with this tend to avoid public interactions entirely. This is, of course, understandable since they are actively intimidated by the thought. However, hiding away from the world also reduces your chances of ever overcoming the fear of public speaking.
On the other hand, doing a little preparation and taking a few small risks can help you overcome fear and anxiety.
1. Learn About Your Topic
While there are many reasons one may suffer from the fear of public speaking, one of the common issues people face is that they’re scared of looking stupid. In order to overcome this fear, it is crucial to educate yourself about the topic you’re going to talk about. Ideally, you should choose a topic that you’re passionate about, as that makes things easier. But if you don’t have a choice, learn as much as you can about the topic. When you know what you’re talking about, the chances of looking stupid decrease significantly.
2. Organize Your Thoughts
In an ideal world, we would just be able to get on the stage and own the room by talking about things we are passionate about without any preparation. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality most of us live in. Being prepared can reduce a large part of your anxiety. To do so, organize your thoughts, create an outline of the main point you’re going to talk about, and come up with a strong starting point to grab your audience’s attention.
3. Practice
Once you’re organized your thoughts, take some time to practice your speech. It may sound silly, but consider performing the speech in front of a mirror. This way, you’ll have a better idea of how you need to carry yourself, and it may also help reduce your stage fright.
As you continue appearing in public, your fear of public speaking will eventually reduce. Therefore, the first step is to put yourself out there. If you need further assistance to overcome your fear of public speaking, sign up for this program by Kimberly Dalius, Mental Minutes Coaching. In addition to boosting your confidence and improving your leadership skills, the program will also help enhance the general quality of your life.
