Public speaking is a very special skill in itself that few have mastered. Facing an audience, maintaining eye contact and delivering an engaging speech have more factors to worry about than one would imagine. The nerves dampen your performance; before you know it, you’re stuttering, and your speech has no impact on the audience.

People join public speaking training classes to improve their delivery and crowd-management skills. An untrained speaker often deals with anxiety before a speech which can only be tackled with regular run-ups. A process suited to you can help you calm down and perform better than ever.

Why do we fear public speaking?

Here are some factors which influence your fear of public speech:

Uncertainty

Delivering a speech can rely heavily on improvisation. This introduces factors of uncertainty which are scary for your mind to process.

Embarrassment

If you have people in the audience, you admire and respect, performing well becomes primary. The fear of messing up and embarrassing yourself affects you.

Pressure

Pressure to perform well is a significant motivator of fear. The expectations we set for ourselves can dampen our performance.

What are the best ways to overcome your public speaking fear?

Good training centres, like the Orator Academy, will guide you through how you can develop a process which you can use to cope with fear and anxiety heading up to a speech. Some pointers which have worked for most people are detailed below.

Pick the right topic

Pressure is high when you’re delivering a public speech, and there’s a higher chance of your mind blanking out. When none of your preparation is retained, all you have are your thoughts to collect and speak. This can be a nightmare if you’re discussing a topic you don’t understand.

Orator Academy offers public speaking training classes which focus on helping you sort the topics by your expertise. If you pick a topic you thoroughly know and understand, you automatically feel more confident and do better in a public setting.

Passion is the easiest emotion to convey in a speech. It can’t be faked, and this reiterates the fact that you should pick topics you’re passionate about. If you cannot convince yourself about the issue at hand, you cannot convince a large crowd.

Practice

Adequate practice is the only way to dispel the fear of speaking. You have to familiarise yourself enough with the public setting not to let it affect your performance. Getting over the fear of a stage can only be achieved with practice.

Orator Academy suggests ample time in front of a crowd to talk about vague topics to get used to the worst situation of a public speech. Handling your thoughts and coherent speech in such settings are skills you can develop with time.

Practice is the most crucial step in any public speaking training. Take topics and practise talking about them in front of a mirror. Ask your friends to make an audience and speak in front of them. Facing your fears frequently is the only way to eliminate them.

Visualise your speech

Visualisation is a great way to dispel fear. Planning out how your public speech will pan out to the minute helps your brain relax and forget about uncertainties. The human brain functions on familiarity, and the more time you give it to think about a situation, the better it behaves when presented with that scenario.

Orator Academy organises regular sessions with experts who help you visualise your goals before a speech as part of your public speaking training. They allow you to think about your surroundings and the people attending to bring you to familiarity.

Visiting the venue before the speech is a good idea while starting. A few trial rounds and keeping your timings in mind help you relax and think you have control over how things will go down. Control is key to not letting your fear crowd your mind.

Meditate before your speech

Various meditation techniques are popular today. Meditation has been prevalent for the longest time, originating in India. With proven results, it has been known to help with the hardest of mental issues. Anxiety is one such issue that it can help with.

Public speaking anxiety is a form of anxiety which is situational. A calm mind can come a long way when delivering a speech, irrespective of the setting. Accessing your surroundings, taking deep breaths and other techniques help.

Orator Academy organises meditation sessions in public speaking training to help you reconnect with your mind and body. You then realise changes associated with anxiety when you have to face a crowd and can work towards counteracting them. Knowing your weaknesses help you fight them greatly.

Focus on your voice

Overwhelming feelings emerge from not having a focal point. When you are bombarded with too many things to focus on, like the audience, your thoughts, your body language and other technicalities, you can quickly lose focus on the task.

Focusing on your voice while delivering a speech can keep your cadence in check. You feel like you have more control over your words which reduces anxiety. Concentrating on one thing at a time also dispels uncertainty troubling your brain.

Orator Academy reiterates in their public speaking training that the primary focus in your speech should be your voice. You can push out confidence in your voice, which automatically reflects in your body language and crowd command. You can leave a profound impact with your confident stance.

Conclusion

Public speaking is a skill you can master with time and effort. Orator academy is an excellent platform to help you invest adequate time into this skill. They personalize goals for you and help you overcome your fear of the stage and crowds.

Working towards confidence and control requires patience. Clever work is recommended while preparing, and good practice will push out belief. Public speaking is a skill for a lifetime which can help you in a variety of situations. Join Orator Academy today!