Speaking in Public Without Fear. 8 Tips on How to Overcome the Fear of Speaking in Front of an Audience

Personal story of how I overcame my fear of speaking

It so happened that I was chosen for the position of internal coach in my absence (I was on vacation). According to the criterion of having the “necessary” psychological education. That is, without my desire and prior consent.

I was sent on a business trip for a 4-day training. In 4 days they taught us the basics of conducting trainings and trained us as trainers. Before this, I had no experience speaking in front of people. For some reason, no one remembered or taught how to cope with fear before performing.

The peculiarity was that it was a part-time position. A pilot project, so to speak. And I had to perform 2 times a month in front of managers. That is, the rest of the time, I worked one step lower on the career ladder. At times I had to train line managers, and even my immediate supervisor. Can you imagine the situation?

In 4 days we were given a lot of information, given 80 files on a flash drive and 2 months to prepare. Actually, no one asked whether you want it or not, whether you are afraid or not. This happens in huge corporations. Either agree or...

Reviews and comments

Practice, use different techniques so as not to worry and not be afraid of public speaking and remember: “A speech needs an exciting beginning and a convincing ending. The task of a good speaker is to bring these two things together as much as possible” (G. Chesterton).

You can discuss your experience and knowledge on the topic below.

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Key words:1Rhetoric

Recommendations on how to overcome the fear of public speaking (long before the event)

If you always feel embarrassed in front of a large number of people, but still understand that speaking skills will be useful, for example, in a professional career, then start preparing in advance. And then, it seems to me, every manager or leader, for example, should be able to convince with words. What kind of conviction is there if he is afraid to speak?

Let's assume you decide to fight this fear. Then start training at home right now. After all, one of the components of fear is uncertainty in one’s abilities.

Follow these recommendations point by point, increasing in complexity. After 3 months, you will understand that you can already say something in public, for example, a toast. And most importantly, you get a positive response. Because diction has improved, the pace of speech adjusts to the topic. Use emotions - make your speech more beautiful.

Over time, you will understand that you can complicate the task, since animal fear appears less and less often. So:

5 recommendations:

Read fairy tales aloud. Yes, exactly fairy tales. Since they are written in simple language and for training and gaining inner confidence, this is just the thing. Exactly out loud. Since only in this case articulation and diction are practiced.
Read economic news out loud. This unusual advice lies in the complexity of the text. Practice will give you freedom in any performance, and of course, a decrease in anxiety.
Retell any story to your friend or family member. If you’re really embarrassed, just talk into the recorder. But then - a voice recorder - this will be an intermediate stage. Then, nevertheless, you need to tell something to a living person. Get into the habit of telling something you read for 10 minutes. In addition to relieving tension in the head and body, a good habit of communication in the family is also acquired.
Make it more difficult for yourself: approach a stranger on the street and ask for directions to any route. This exercise removes the fear of communicating with strangers. Over time, you will understand that you can calmly survive even a refusal.
Do these practices without interruption for a single day, at least for 5 minutes.

Because the practice of “speaking”, communicating with strangers, has a lot in common with performances. The brain, and the body, gets used to these tasks and stops reacting violently with stress and wet palms when necessary to stand up and publicly express your opinion.

Practice and more practice will lead you to the fact that over time you will receive a positive response to your speeches. This means that the fear that squeezes your throat and shakes your knees will pass. And also use your imagination - draw yourself a picture of your success. For self-confidence, recite affirmations (there are many examples here).

After all, overcoming yourself is development, and after a while you will be looking for opportunities to perform somewhere to get your adrenaline and emotional charge. You can read how else you can start self-development here.

Exercises to overcome fear

Preparation is the main way to get rid of fear. But it’s nice to supplement it with some more techniques.

Exercise stress

To normalize your neurohormonal state, it is useful to exercise yourself physically. Do push-ups, squats, run, wave your arms. It’s good for the body, and it will produce “anti-fear”, in other words, endorphins - hormones of anti-stress and happiness. But don’t do this just before the performance, your breathing should normalize and your appearance should be neat.

Visualization

Imagine and play out your upcoming performance in front of an audience in your head. Feel it with each of your basic senses. Visualize every detail, the more precise the better. Imagine the attentive glances of the listeners, the exchange of energy. Imagine only successful and pleasant things. Imagine the most successful scenario: how you joke, how positively the audience reacts to it, how skillfully you answer unexpected and difficult, or even tricky, questions.

Lifehack for removing a clamp - 3 quick exercises (5 minutes before the start)

When there is less and less time left until the moment of entering the stage or podium, it begins to “sausage”.

Having many years of speaking practice and knowing how to overcome the fear of public speaking, I can say that the excitement does not go away, regardless of practice and numerous repetitions. It is always there, but it is quite possible to reduce the physical manifestation with the help of these simple exercises.

The exercise can be done right before the exit, when the audience has gathered, it’s your turn in 2 minutes. This can be done unnoticed by others.

This exercise is based on breathing. Take a deep breath - hold your breath - exhale slowly. You can do this on account. 5-5-5 or 7-7-7. Who has enough oxygen? The lungs are enriched with oxygen, and not only do emotions become balanced, but the head begins to think better and the brain is ready for active action. This leads to: a. to reduce the intensity of emotions, b. to a bright head.

The exercise is based on physical tension and relaxation. We have noticed that sometimes the tension before a performance reaches such a climax that a spasm seizes the throat, the knees begin to shake and the fingers involuntarily squeeze the handle to the white knuckles. This tension can be quickly relieved, literally in 30 seconds, by clenching your fingers into fists as much as possible, and then, with the same effort, unclench your fingers and spread them to the side. It would be nice to do this with your toes at the same time, at least try. 5 times this muscle tension is enough to remove the physical manifestations of fear before a performance.
Wash your face with cold water. Take a sip of water. After all, before a performance I always dry up with excitement. This helps balance the acid-base balance and moisten the vocal cords.

And now the time has come...

How peiraphobia manifests itself: we study our sensations

During the hours of anticipation of the “social apocalypse,” our psycho-emotional stress increases: the activity of the subcortical system, cerebral cortex, autonomic nervous system, motor centers, endocrine glands, and visceral organs is activated. As a result we have:

skeletal muscle tension increases;
vasospasm is observed;
motor skills accelerate;
facial expressions change;
the timbre of the voice becomes different;
increased sweating is observed;
heartbeat increases;
blood pressure rises.

A panic attack can give us:

intense pressing, squeezing, squeezing headache;
tingling sensation in the heart area;
tremor of the limbs;
internal trembling;
unquenchable thirst;
numbness;
urge to urinate.

Often a panic attack leads to fainting.

What else can help a speaker overcome public fear?

Target

Knowing the purpose can overcome a speaker's anxiety and fear of speaking. Before the performance, determine the goal that you want to achieve. Very rarely is it “just a report.” Find meaning for yourself, even if it is regulated, and at first glance, useless participation.

Come up with a benefit, or what you teach to those sitting in the hall. This meaning is exactly what you need to relieve anxiety and fear of performing. Focus your efforts specifically on conveying the meaning to the public.

The head is like a vessel in which one thing fits, either fear with endless “what if,” or the disclosure of a topic. It’s just that if the topic is not interesting to you personally, then it will take much more effort to shift the fear to the side.

You may be interested in articles on the topic:

How to find purpose in life
Methods of dealing with fears

Mistakes in dealing with a phobia

Some publications write that you can imagine people sitting in the hall in their underwear. I wouldn't do that to overcome stage fright. In fact, the energy during the performance is very noticeable. What thoughts and mood does the speaker come out with? Even the first excitement is forgiven to a benevolent speaker. And then no one will remember about the involuntary hitches. And if a person comes up with a condescending pose and a look from top to bottom, expect trouble. The audience feels this very sensitively - it has been verified more than once (by observing other speakers).

I think the recommendations to drink a sedative before a performance are wrong. The level of fear may be decreasing. But there is also a slowdown. Where it is necessary to speak with strong enthusiasm, to interest the audience, to give in to emotions, it will come out sluggish and insipid. And as a result, it will not be possible to convey information to people.