From the course: Delivery Tips for Speaking in Public

Manage nerves and stage fright

From the course: Delivery Tips for Speaking in Public

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Manage nerves and stage fright

- Most people get extremely nervous or even anxious when it comes to public speaking. How can you get over it? Remember to think about three P's. Prepare, practice, and manage your physical response. Let's start with prepare. You'll be much more confident if you're speaking about a topic where you're a subject matter expert. Do your homework and get yourself ready. As you're preparing, visualize your success. Weeks, days, even hours before you start, picture yourself standing in front of the crowd nailing the presentation. This is something you can do as you practice, which is the second P. And there are some strategies you can use to help you practice with intentionality. Start by practicing aloud. Make sure that you've practiced the presentation several times, ideally, without relying heavily on your notes. Second, practice with an elevated heart rate. Go for a quick jog up the stairs, or do some jumping jacks before you start practicing. This simulates the biological response you have the first time you start speaking. Your heart'll be racing, and you'll just be starting to break a sweat. Practice starting off this way so that you can practice calming yourself down as you speak. Third, record yourself practicing. If you're like me, you'll hate seeing yourself on video, but it's the only way you can really see what you need to improve. Okay, let's talk about that last P, physical response. There are things you can do before and during your presentation to help manage your physical response. First, get in the zone. There are lots of ways you can get your mind and body ready for that big moment when you walk onto the platform. If you watch sports, you may have noticed that in baseball they play a walk up song as the batter walks up to bat. This is the song that gets the fans excited, but makes the batter feel confident. What's a song that makes you feel pumped and energized? Make a playlist and listen to a few of these songs before you start speaking. Next, take some deep breaths. You can do this subtly, in ways your audience won't notice. Send some fresh oxygen to your brain to help you think through exactly what you want to say. And lastly, drink water. Hydrating is a geed general habit, and critical before speaking, as it's good for your vocal cords. If you're already nervous, and get dehydrated, your muscles may cramp up, or you'll start to feel dizzy. I'd avoid caffeine, which will speed up your heart rate and your rate of speech. And stay away from milk and dairy, which may lead to mucus buildup in your throat, which leads to that (clears throat) or cough that makes you sound nervous, even if you aren't. Most of us experience a bit of stagefright. It's healthy. It means you're taking it seriously. Just remember, to prepare, practice, and control your physical response so that you look confident even if you're freaking out.

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