How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking?

Throughout childhood and my school life, I was a shy and to an extent introverted girl. I would talk to a group of close, trusted friends. It was grade 7 when I was standing on the stage for an elocution competition, and stage freight struck me hard. I got severe cramps and fell down right at the place where I was standing. Today, after almost 20 years, I am a successful trainer and L and D professional, with 11 plus years of experience. So how did this fear vanish? Or did it diminish, and some of it is still there? 

Here I shall share some things which I did over the years. Most of them are tried and tested over places by people and they have worked wonders to overcome stage fear.

Glossophobia- Fear of Public Speaking

Fear of Public Speaking is known as Glossophobia. About 75% of the population suffers from this condition. However, most people do not know about it, as they do not get a chance to engage in public speaking, or they get over this social phobia once they are forced to face the fear. But it happens to us in various situations like at school - when the teacher asks us a question in front of the classroom, at the workplace - while we present in front of our superiors, at a job interview- when we are worried about being in the spot and presenting our best to others. It is a condition of intense anxiety, which is reflected physically, in form of dryness of throat, trembling, shaking nervously, not able to talk properly, and much more.

Why this fear? 

The cause of it could be many. Some of them are:

·        Lack of preparation

·        Perception of the audience as evaluators who will pass judgment

·        Fear of getting negative responses

·        Prior bad experiences

·        This is a first-time experience and so it's new for the person

·        Non-familiarity with the audience expectations

How to shun off fear?

1.      Set expectations at the start of the class/meeting - Set the ground rules of discipline, break times, how and when to ask questions, mobile phone behavior, etc. This helps the speaker stay in control of the class, and also makes it clear for the class about the speaker’s expectations. This also makes it clear who is in charge, makes the session go smoothly, and establishes rapport with the speaker. 

 

Practice and Rehearse

      2.      Be prepared and rehearse well- Practice makes one perfect. Practice and rehearsing with family, friends, or with colleagues can be a good way of getting feedback from them. If required, a practice can be done in front of the mirror too. This enables you to see your self-body language, gestures, appearance, and you can control the gestures which you feel your audience may get distracted with. Having a safe place to practice and a trusted audience makes one feel more confident.  

3.      Have a training environment that suits you in terms of comfort (all equipment, materials needed should be at hand)- Many people undermine the importance of a comfortable training environment. But, I strongly suggest, as much as it sounds like a minor activity, it is a vital one for the training session or speech. There may be materials required, which should be at hand. Technology, equipment should be tested before-hand. The speaker should arrive early and get comfortable with the surroundings.

Interaction is important

       4.      Seek participation from the audience- By including your audience in the discussion, it will lead to a two – way communication. It can be done by seeking their understanding of a topic, their experiences in a situation, or by asking questions. Ask open-ended questions, to generate detailed responses. This will help the audience be engaged and you (the speaker) to get a breather.

          5.      Don’t be afraid of silence (it means the audience is thinking)- If you have asked for audience participation and have put forth a question, let them take the time to recall. The time is taken to recall and relate an incident can vary from a few seconds to minutes. It depends on how strongly it is associated with one’s memory. Let the audience do the thinking and participate, avoid interruptions unless it is taking too much time and no response is obtained.

6.      Include Humor and Smile often to maintain a light atmosphere- It is a good idea to include some humor in the speech, laugh, smile, and make the audience do the same. Apart from releasing the nervousness and tension, it helps to change the mood of the audience. 

7.     The best option is the face the fear and it will be gone- By dominating the fear and taking charge, you will be able to ease yourself and gather some healthy experiences in your memory for you to speak at a public forum again. 

Know about Adult Learning Principles

      8.      Learn more about people- Learn more about adult learning principles. Move from teaching to facilitating, learn to involve, engage-have less text to read and more to speak, include visuals and audio, adults get bored faster and have a lesser attention span, they have past knowledge and experiences to share. Adults learn best in 20 minutes chunks, if your matter is more than 20 minutes, then you take up an activity and then take the next portion of matter. 

    9.      Be aware that the audience imitates you- Enthusiasm is contagious. If you (the speaker) have an encouraging and confident body language, then it will reflect in your audience’s perception of you. Your audience imitates your mood. Be passionate about what you are talking to gain attention and participation.

10.   Paralinguistic-  What if I tell you a thrilling story, but my speech does not have any difference in tone, voice, pitch, intonations? I will sound monotonous and dull. Yes, you got it right. Even if you understand the story, but you will not be able to enjoy the storytelling session. You may even, for once, mentally switch off. That is precisely what your audience will be if you sound repetitive, uninteresting, and boring. If at this time, you ask your audience any question, and they are unable to participate, it will bring your confidence down in your ability to convey your message to your audience. So, speak with an appropriate tone, an inflection in your voice, pauses, and intonations. You can check your knowledge on paralinguistic here.

11.   Have a central message for takeaway- Any talk or training must have a central message or take away for the audience. Ideally, it must be summarized in form of action points at the end of the session. Along with concluding the session, you will also motivate the audience to take the next step. 

12.   Be aware that information is taken in from multiple sensory channels- Individuals differ in the way they take in information and learn. Broadly, it is visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic. Try to adapt to include multiple learning styles in your session. The material you speak, show, or make them practice, should stimulate their senses and help them feel engaged.

Hope these are helpful and help you gather the courage of facing an audience and speak up if you have never done so.