Public Speaking Fear No More
It turns out that most Americans fear public speaking. It is proven through a fear research that death fear is ranked right after public speaking. The fear of public speaking, called as glossophobia, is then expressed in the reaction chain of anxiety, that includes shaking, trembling, and speaking difficulty. Furthermore, Psychology Today presents a research result, pointing that most people were having these two main reasons of fear. First, they were afraid of going blank where all the words prepared scattered and thrown up somewhere they could not find any footprint, this resulted to inability to continue talking and delivering their messages. The second reason is the mindset of becoming embarrassed due to having said of illogical, unreliable, in harsh - foolish words or things.
"Why converting from one-to-one conversation to public becomes really hard? What makes it so different that I cannot even speak a word? How to actually make this work? Who should I run to? To whom should I blame this? Is it me that is wrong?"
Questions above can suddenly be tackled down by applying these actions to help achieving the goal of becoming public speaker.
1. Find out your special need of doing public speaking
Congratulations! You just started preparing yourself to be a public speaker. You have passed this step, proven that you have engaged and have been reading this article for about 20 seconds trying to find out the solutions to be brave enough to speak in public. By reading this article, you yourself are sure that you have got that 'special need' or certain purpose to have the public speaking skill. Knowing the 'need' might help support the willingness and motivation to learn more, try more, struggle more, and master the skill more. Build the 'need' atmosphere.
2. Don't ever expect perfection from yourself
Mentioned before that the fear of embarrassment is one of the main reasons. The fear even arises more when public speakers start to feel threatened of potential negative image, credibility, responses, and views due to foolish mistakes they might make. Thoughts such "I'm really not into this, I am not good enough for speaking, I am not entertaining, my topic is boring, I made many mistakes," represent the feel of rejection where speakers further think that audiences are going to scrutinize every word they say. To be realistic, top public speakers are also close to mistakes. However, they realize, recover, and continue. Mistakes are sign of imperfection, but be reminded that it is really fine.
3. Just, start
A woman asked a question to a man who had just had his bungee jumping, "How do you make it? What makes you feel not afraid of doing it? How do you start it?" The man simply answered, "You just need to buy a ticket."
Press the button "Yes" and drown yourself. Here comes the benefit of being a human. In fact, you are equipped with the nature of quick adaption towards changes, despite being resistant. So, you just gotta be safe, actually.
A reward? That's a plus. Garnish your efforts with excitement of "If I can pass this..., if I win this game..."
4. Make the 'correct' preparation
Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.
Three highlighted things to make a 'correct' preparation.
First, do not ever try to memorize every word. Being nervous results to high adrenaline flowing as a result of body's response towards a threatening stimulus, therefore bodies are busy preparing for a battle. While being busy, body connected to the brain cannot work well for multitasking performance. Words prepared for speaking will instantly fade away from the surface and be locked down to the bottom. Bye bye words. Therefore, take notes, make some points.
Best way to conquer stage-fright is to know what you are talking about -Michael Mescon. Second, consider that your speech is a message that you want to deliver, so be convinced and be knowledgeable in the first place. Having no knowledge about the topic you are blabbering can harvest 'guilty' feeling resulting to uncomfortable speech. Some speakers are getting their speech written by some else. That is fine, however, please do paraphrasing, make summary, and take notes of it, make it 'your way, your style' so that you can claim that the messages are truly coming from you.
Last, this is a treasure secret. It turns out that speaking in front of a mirror will not be a help as mirror is only a dead thing. What helps the most is making speaking as a habit. Public speaking is not a skill to master in one night. Instead of talking to a mirror, get yourself speak with people and surrounding community. Practice delivering your ideas within your group, then at one point you can feel no longer fear while speaking, even in a more crowded group.
“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 go, and fix it along the way…” ― Paul Arden
I'll see you on the stage!
0 Comments Add a Comment?