As per a survey, almost 22 Million people in the US suffer from fear of public speaking. This number shows a ration of the 70–75% of people studied who report some amount of glossophobia—the fear of public speaking.
Get to know how to speak in public might appear next to impossible. But it is actually as simple as you have imagined it to be hard. As a first step, remember that the topic you are passionate about is most probably of interest to the audience. And they are hearing, not thinking about your nerves or you (or even your communication skills). Here are some tips that you can utilize for even more practical approaches when stage fear comes in your way.
Keep your focus in the correct place.
We are going to begin out with some tough tips. It is not about you! Stage fear is sufficiently unpleasant that you might aim at how dreadful you are feeling rather than of what actually matters—the reaction of your listeners. Place yourself in the audiences’ shoes and think about what they are expecting to get out of this presentation. You will be on the correct path, which is that of your listeners. Do not think of anything else. This will only worsen your situation and increase your anxiety, instead of helping you out of the situation. The only way out for you from this situation is to face it and keep your focus on the main thing—your audience.
Convert That Negative Thoughts Into Positive Ones
The longer you remain in negative zone worrying about your reaction to stage fear, the more that place will appear close to your. We are all experts at creating negative self-talk and beating ourselves up. Convert every self-destructive statement about yourself by looking at the other side of the coin, which you are aiming at. Make a positive image of yourself within you. This can be stated as the stepping stone of overcoming stage fear. If you are the one that is not able to believe in yourself, how would you expect the audience to respond to you in a positive way?
Belly Breathe
Modern life with all its digital assistants and gadgets makes it simpler for you to turn into a “talking head,” which adds breathing rapidly and shallowly. The flight or fight response to any type of fear exacerbates this kind of respiration process. To make these habits neutral, you need to master the art of breathing diaphragmatically. You heard it! This will assist you to have a reverberating voice and will also slow your heart rate and calm you. At such times, you need to maintain your calm and think of how to get stable. And, most importantly, you need to do this while simultaneously performing on the stage without the audience noticing you.
You can practice this beforehand, in front of your family members or friend circle. Once you are able to perform this act in front of your closed-ones, you are halfway there.
Let Disturbing Thoughts Flow Away
Concentration is one of your most essential weapons as a speaker who understands how to engage with and reach to the audiences. But you are human, which means useless thoughts will cross your mind while you’re performing. Master the art of not engaging these thoughts. Or, at least, resist them. Rather, notice them and allow them to flow away. Come back to your performance as these thoughts flow away.
Stand Straight And Be An Open Book In Front Of Audience
Posture matters in terms of both look like a leader and whether you are confident. It is an ignored region of body language. Try bending your shoulders a bit and widen your chest to come forward as your shoulders go into their actual position. This will assist you to feel and look confident. Being confident is an essential factor while overcoming stage fear. In order for this to work, as mentioned earlier, try your speech or your work in front of your family members or friend circle. This will ease up things a bit.
Don’t Present But Talk To The Audience
Private and public speeches have been getting more and more conversational. Your speech nerves arrive partially from the thought that you are there to offer A SPEECH. Actually, you will just be talking to some individuals. Don’t be a robot that is there to give a presentation. Instead, be an interactive human.
Welcome And Smile At Your Audience
One of the most effectual methods to feel like you know audience (and hence feel less nervous) is to take a moment to let that take place. You do that in your moment of welcoming. Begin strongly by offering your audience a welcoming note that they will never forget. Dissolve yourself in this moment, allowing the audience to know that you actually enjoy being here.
Turn The Spotlight Around
This too is an imagining concept. Interacting in public can feel like standing odd in a bright hot spotlight, where each move you make comes in attention where you’re vulnerable and naked. So turn the spotlight around in your mind. Now the spotlight is on the audience and you are in the cool dark. Interaction with the audience helps take off the load from your shoulders.
Visualize A Successful End
Chess grandmasters, athletes, and theoretical physicists do a lot of imagining, and you must join them. In different words, learn how to employ positive visualization to make a winning presentation. It just makes logic: the more effort and time you invest expecting positive results, the better set you will be to react that way in the actual situation.
Move!
Ever feel like you are in under stress pressure when talking to a group? That is because the response of fear is allowing the flow of adrenaline in your blood. It is dubbed as the “flight or fight” response since stress hormones are forcing you to get away fast or physically battle the danger. The stress will only keep building if you stand still. Hence, move!
Having said this, it is clear that confidence is one of the most important factors that will help you know how to overcome stage fear. In addition to this, there are also a few points that you need to concentrate on. If you work on these points, we are sure that you will overcome the stage fear within no time. Do let us know your thoughts on the article by commenting below. In addition to this, if you do have any extra tips, write down to us by commenting below and we will be happy to mention them.
