Do you get confused while talking to someone? Do you have problems while speaking in front of people? Or you have fear during a presentation? Do you speak different words while presenting something? Or your mind forget everything you wanted to say when you stand against some people? Do your tongue slips while saying something due? Or you get nervous and scared about saying something. Don’t worry; we have got the solution for all of your issues while speaking.
Hello reader, if you have any issue while speaking or you get nervous, then don’t panic; it is normal. Not every speaker sounds the same. Public speaking anxiety is known as ‘glossophobia,’ which is one of the most common social fears. Many people may feel nervous about giving a speech or presenting something if they have public speaking anxiety or SAD that is a social anxiety disorder that may take throughout your life.
What are the symptoms of SAD or Public Speaking Anxiety:-
Public speaking fear is common. It has stages, like from being slightly confused to get nervousness or even panic attacks and paralyzing fear. Starting symptoms of public speaking anxiety is a quavering voice and shaking hands. Sometimes it is followed by slipping tongue and stammering. Symptoms of social anxiety disorder and public speaking anxiety are the same. If a person has public speaking anxiety, he or she may worry weeks or months in advance of a speech or presentation, and probably have severe physical symptoms of anxiety before and during a speech. Such symptoms are:
- Shaking or vibrating hands
- Increased heartbeat
- Quivering voice
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Upset stomach
- Confusion
- Sweating
- Dry mouth
This condition only shows up when that person is in front of a bunch of people or about to give a speech. If you have severe public anxiety symptoms while speaking in front of people and your desire to live your life the way that you would like is affected by this problem, you may report a psychologist urgently.
According to the National Institue of Mental Health, 73% of the world’s population is experiencing glossophobia, SAD, or public anxiety. This is the most commonly reported social fear. When fear gets in the way of communication, important things go missed, and communication suffers. Genuinely, speaking fearlessly has two great benefits.
- First is that the speaker becomes more effective, which means that concerns about looking foolish will begin to fade away.
- The other is that the speaker feels more comfortable because he or she is not trying to copy someone but to explain there point.
Here are the tips that mostly come from many people’s experiences in public speaking, and giving speeches or presentations fearlessly.
Review the topic given to you and care about it:-
Have a look at what you have to speak. Gather information, articles, recent updates researches, and make your speech enjoyable. Care about what you have given to you and how you should present it. Take your phone out or stand up in front of a mirror to practice what you have gathered.
Write and get relaxed:-
It is a good habit to write what you have collected. It makes you committed to a purpose and topic on which you have to speak. Collected all the info and then compile it on a piece of paper and rehearse practice so that you can be confident about what you have to speak and don’t get confused with new words.
Rehearse:-
If you have fear, then start rehearsing your presentation or speech and have command on your words and the way you speak them. Stand in front of a mirror or get your family to sit in front of you and then deliver your speech. That’s how you gain confidence and control over your fear.
Enough knowledge:-
The speaker should have enough attention-seeking information regarding his or her topic. You should go through and find the best recent updated researches or material about your topic. This will not only give you the attention, but also you will be comfortable and confident while speaking when you will have all the eyes on you. Don’t be overconfident. Speak what you know; do not add additional or annoying things. Present the facts that the audience doesn’t know.
Use imagination:-
Psychology says that a person can say or do things more perfectly the way he or she has imagined. Visualization and imagination can turn things differently. Imagine the things and scenarios you are about to tell or present. This will help you in giving a friendly, confidential speech.
Admit nervousness:-
If you are getting nervous, rather than fainting or anything, take a deep breath and confess in front of the audience that you are getting nervous. That will help in many ways, like you will gain empathy or comments so you can be friendly and relax. And after such empathy, it will help you to calm and revive from any anxiety.
Use body language:-
Body language means the use of hands, eyes, and legs. That means that while speaking something, you should be watching your audience have eye contact with them. Move your hand so they can talk too while the speaker is explaining something. Do not give any speech or presentation while standing in a specific place. Engage with your audience; move around in them.
Dress properly:-
According to normal human psychology, a person and its personality are known by the way he is dressed up. For an efficient presentation or speech, an individual should be properly dressed and should follow the dress code. His shoes must be clean; his dress must be clean. His or her face must be fresh.
Redefine the audience:-
This means that the person should not see his audience as the judges but see them as friendly random people. He should be scared of how they will respond or comment, but he should be focused on how he or she will present it and how focused and confident he is. How much command he has on his words and speech.
The Tone should be friendly and formal:-
The speaker’s tone of speaking should be friendly. He must welcome all of his audience. And speak in a good engaging tone so the audience should enjoy and take part in listening carefully to what he speaks. The speakers with boring tone or rude tone do not get much affection and respect.
Making mistakes and joking in between:-
For having control of the audience, you should actively engage with them. Make mistakes intentionally like dropping off your notes, sudden switching off the presentation, or any other joke wherever you think that the speech is going bore. This will help in refreshing the audience and give you time to gain their attention and control. Casually, doing such things make you feel easy and comfortable to deliver. And also make it fun, memorable, and enjoying the people listening to you.
Prefer short speech than long:-
Long speeches or presentations bore the audience. They find it irrelevant. The shorter the speech is, the more authentic it will be. And it is also followed by more questions that will awake the audience to ask more. Talk less but effective. It improves the quality of the speech and authenticity of the topic. The speaker should be to the point with the audience and do not lie about anything.
Give references:-
An Authentic speech should contain references from where the matter is taken and extracted. This works as a confidential proof that the information given is authentic, and there is no lie in it. And it also gives quality to your speech. Because more than quantity, quality matters. The more effective references would be, the more quality will your speech has.
Share your experience and personal opinion with the audience:-
Try sharing your own experience with the audience. Sometimes the audience gets attracted to the personal opinion and experience of the speaker because it helps them to gain more knowledge. If it is interesting, then they will have the urge to experiment with it too. This will also add fun to the speech. And also good quality time with your audience.
Before you leave:
It is normal and natural human nature to feel frightened for the first time when you speak in a large audience or high-level judges. With all these tricks, there are some essential things you should have in mind if you want to be a good speaker. Welcome everybody with a smile. As we all know that “SMILE IS THE UNIVERSAL WELCOME.” We should be friendly with the audience and talk person by person and engage all of them in our talk. Another thing is that don’t apologize for the mistakes while speaking because usually, people don’t notice that, so instead of offering apologies, continue speaking and make it a fact of fun.
I hope you enjoyed this and these tricks help in getting your speaking skills better and overcoming your public anxiety and social fear.
FAQ’s
What happens if SAD or public anxiety continues?
What to do after the diagnosis of such conditions?
What to do if a mishap occurs?
Immediate tips for an effective presentation and speech?
1. Content, structure, and length of the presentation should not be so long.
2. Size and demographics of the audience.
3. Size and layout of the presentation.
4. Audio and visual setup.
5. The Flow of the plan.
Whether the speaker is known or not, these tips are the contribution to the anxiety fear by public speakers. Turn the unknown audience into known and friendly, and your public speaking anxiety will decrease, and confidence will increase.