If you want to conquer the fear of public speaking, you must look at it. We’ve all heard the acronym for FEAR as False Evidence Appearing Real.
I believe what fear really is Fatal Expectations Altering Reality. In other words, fear doesn’t have to be our reality. What is fear? Fear is adrenalin going through our body because of our natural fight or flight response. Furthermore, we get more scared when the adrenalin courses through our bodies.
Next, understand why you are afraid. Look at what you are afraid of. Most people say they have a fear of public speaking because they are afraid they are either (1) Going to forget what they are going to say, (2) not going to be liked, or (3) going to be judged.
However, the real fear really comes from the unknown. Many beginning speakers stand up and speak and they have not prepared their speech enough or practiced enough. They don’t know what’s going to happen because they don’ have enough experience doing it well. Then, fear kicks in and makes them scared. It alters their reality to the point that they don’t want to speak at all.
But we CAN change that.
Steps To Shift the Fear of Speaking to Freedom
Step 1: Get professionally trained as a speaker. Through training, you’ll know what to do to prepare to be on stage, how write a great speech, how to deliver it to keep your audience engaged, and what to do in the close that will attract clients and generate interest. Being professionally trained will give you confidence and calm your nerves.
Step 2: Prepare ahead of time. Prepare your speech. Also, prepare yourself. Make sure that on the day of your speaking engagement, your clothes are pressed, and ready for go. Ensure your grooming is done too. That would include getting your hair and nails done. Treat your speaking engagement as a big deal for you and your audience. Remember there are people who are waiting to hear your speech because it could save their life or business or both. When you’re a speaker, you’re in the life changing and saving business.
If you’re speaking at an in-person event, prepare your car well in advance. Get directions and leave home or office in plenty of time. Get there at least 30 minutes prior to event start time. That means planning your travel to arrive 1 hour early in normal traffic so you’re not nervous about being on time. In the virtual world, you need the same planning. Instead of directions, make sure you have the right presenter online link. Talk to the person who invited you. Know how many people will attend and who are they.
I did a recent talk to people in Las Vegas. I came in on a new online system. They had some technical problems. We should have done a dress rehearsal. It took them 20 minutes before I could start speaking. Be aware and prepare for technology glitches.
Step 3: Rehearse – rehearse 1 hour for 2 minutes of speech. If you are delivering a 30-minute speech, practice 15 hours out loud. This is where you will disappear your fear. When you are that prepared and rehearsed you will have the confidence that will replace the fear.
You rehearse out loud. This is not something you do in your head or in your car while driving. You need to walk around your office or home and say it out loud so your ears can hear it until you become the script. Just like a song you hear in your car over and over until one day you are singing it. You never set out to learn it. But because you heard it so many times, you now know it. The same thing happens with you practice your speech out loud. You become the script and now, you are free to say any inspiration that comes your way that you didn’t plan on saying. It could be a story that at someone in your audience needed to hear. By becoming the script, you are free to speak.
Transform On-Site Fear
Here’s another bonus technique to handle the fear that happens just before your talk. On the day of your speech you may have butterflies. Especially if you are an inexperienced speaker. When you have a powerful attention grabber (the first few sentences you say) blast it out with all your energy and adrenalin at the beginning of your talk. Then the audience responds back and has transform your adrenalin into energy. Once you receive that energy you see your audience is engaged and you can launch into your speech with full confidence.
For guidance to work through the fear and do the work of preparation ahead of time, join an upcoming speaker training intensive and mastermind at https://arveerobinson.com/training/speaker-training-intensive