Fear of public speaking? Overcome the anxiety!

I am presenting to a group of college students tomorrow and have started to get a little anxious…will I be a good presenter? Will they like me? Will I fumble my words?

Jerry Seinfeild once joked that for most people, the fear of public speaking ranks higher than the fear of death: “This means to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Oh dear…

We know that most people have a fear of Public speaking, so here are some pointers to overcome the fear:

1.     Analyze your fear. Talk to a friend or coach to help uncover the fear that underlies your public speaking phobia. It may not be what you think it is.

2.     Realize that the purpose of your presentation is not to convey information. It’s to inspire and motivate people!

3.     Prepare facts and statistics from your presentation. Consider putting down information on a hand-out or into a follow-up email.

4.     Include one or more personal stories and examples.

5.     Avoid slides, and if you must use them, keep them to a minimum.

6.     Shift your focus from yourself to the audience, and know they want you to succeed.

7.     Realize that your job is not to know everything about your subject. Rather, it’s to be engaging and relevant.

8.     Don’t’ memorize your script. Internalize a few key points and realize that if you forget something, it’s OK if you do!

Good luck with your public speaking and I hope the above inspires you to have positive thoughts about your next experience!

I know I will keep the above points in mind when I am doing my presentation tomorrow. Happy presenting!

“Too many people spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you’ve got, and fix it along the way…” – Paul Arden