When you feel less nervous and more confident about public speaking, you can take advantage of opportunities (instead of miss out on them) and make a bigger.
7 Tips to Calm Your Public Speaking Nerves
- Breathe. Inhale and an exhale before you speak. (Or smell the roses and blow out the candle.) Pause every now and then during a speech or conversation and do the same. You’ll decrease your “ums” and “ahs”, stay grounded and present, and your audience gets a chance to absorb what you’ve told them.
- Straighten your posture. Boost confidence and energy with a quick posture exercise. Stand with your feet flat, shoulders relaxed and back, chest open, chin parallel to the floor. You’ll appear and feel taller and more confident.
- Get support. Join Toastmasters, hire a coach, gather a group of like-minded colleagues.
- Practice. Practice is the key to success as a speaker. Again Toastmasters can help. Also, attend networking events, take on leadership roles and practice at home.
- Know your purpose. Why do you want to speak? A strong purpose will allow you to put that nervous energy to good use.
- Focus on your audience. Know your audience and their needs to craft a message that helps them. Remember, public speaking isn’t about you. It’s about meeting audience needs.
- Know your content. Pick a topic you have an interest in or knowledge about, do your research and practice, practice, practice.
Tips developed by Stacy Shipman