Public speaking is one of the most necessary soft skills today, to excel in both the professional and personal world through effective communication. Today I share with you 3 key tips on how to overcome the fear of public speaking.
Understand that fear is part of public speaking
First, we need to change the paradigm in which we believe we must be bulletproof, and eliminate every trace of fear within our system.
Fear is a biological and natural reaction, which occurs when we face complicated situations in our daily lives, and while fear can diminish with experience and mastery of the subject, it will always be natural to have it.
Even figures of the caliber of Adele continue to feel anxiety and nervousness before each of her concerts; Nicole Kidman has argued that she feels afraid when she is recognized and awarded at a prestigious ceremony; and another multi-award-winning actor like Johnny Depp has publicly acknowledged his social anxiety, and how difficult public speaking is for him.
This means that no matter how high your status and success, the fear of public speaking can always be latent, so it is much more important to learn to manage it in order to perform in front of an audience.
Implement relaxation and breathing techniques
Once we have already accepted fear and nerves as something normal, it is important that we learn to manage them, knowing your body, and the effect that relaxation and breathing have to achieve success in your talks.
For example, you can incorporate techniques such as abdominal breathing, with which you will learn to inhale air through your nose, lodge it in your abdomen and control your breathing. This, in addition to relieving your nerves and fear, will also help you vocalize from your chest, looking more confident and above all, generating an appropriate tone of voice.
It is also important that you implement conscious breathing, an exercise that will allow us to pay special attention to something that seems automatic like inhaling and exhaling.
Paying special attention will allow you to perform a small meditation technique that you can apply anywhere, focusing your attention on the present and above all, achieving relaxation in those moments when you feel afraid and anxious about speaking.
Practice is the most important thing
While eliminating the fear of public speaking may be impossible, experience will teach you to face the nerves and find the right method to perform in the best way.
It is very important that when you have the objective of speaking in public, it is about a topic in which you are an expert, in addition to preparing yourself in advance, to master the speech and the message you will communicate, and to face any type of question or objection from the audience.
You don't have to face large audiences from the beginning, you can start small by practicing only in front of the mirror; make small interventions and conversations with your friends and family, where you are the center of attention; and why not, also broadcast live through social networks.
These tips will help you overcome the fear of public speaking, I recommend applying them little by little, with practice you will become a true expert in the subject.