How I Finally Got Over My Fear of Public Speaking

I know the feeling all too well. My head starts to spin. My breathing becomes erratic, my throat becomes dry. The first words that come out of my mouth cause my voice to crack. I panic a little and start to rush through my presentation. When I am done, I quickly gather up my things and go back to my seat.

Is this what public speaking does to you too? Are you all too familiar with that ball of tension that forms deep in your chest before you stand in front of your audience?

Don’t worry – you’re not alone. In fact, most people rank fear of public speaking as number one. They experience some degree of nervousness or anxiety when they give a speech, presentation, or perform on stage. It’s common, whether it’s your first time presenting or if you’re a seasoned speaker.

But a lot of us are required to do some form of public speaking for our careers. From presenting to a small group of people to a board room, there will come a time when you’re going to be in the spotlight, doing the presentation.

Letting the fear of public speaking hold you back can impact your professional life. Being able to articulate yourself, appearing confident in front of a crowd, or just holding the fort during your presentation says a lot about you as an individual. For starters, public speaking skills are closely associated with leadership ability, and those who wish to advance their careers will benefit from being comfortable with speaking in front of people as an effective way of communication.

Knowing this, I knew I had to overcome my fear of public speaking. And I did! I still get nervous when I get in front of others, but it doesn’t overwhelm me. I am a lot more confident now, clear on what I want to present. Am I better for it? Perhaps – I see my audience being more engaged and paying attention more. And to me, that’s a great start to being good at public speaking.

Here's how I did it so you can try it out for yourself.

#1 Accept that you have to do it
The sooner I accepted that there was no way out of public speaking, the quicker I overcame my fear. Also, accepting that public speaking can be scary is a great way to be good at it! It sounds weird but hear me out – understanding that public speaking can be overwhelming will put us in a good place to learn how to manage this fear. I know it’s scary, but I also know that it’s something I have to do. So, I acknowledged the fact that it makes me anxious and that’s that. From then on, I start to psyche myself out to be good at public speaking, focusing only on getting my message across and not paying attention to being triggered by the fear. The faster I got my head into the fact that public speaking is going to be a huge part of my professional life, the sooner I got over it.

#2 It’s not about me
I don’t like all eyes on me. I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I don’t want people to judge me when I am speaking. If these are all the reasons why public speaking overwhelms you, realise it for this pattern – your fears are all about you. Many of us see public speaking as a way of being attacked or judged. And our response to that would be feeling anxious when all eyes are on us. What if I told you that if you stopped thinking about yourself, you could quickly overcome your public speaking fear? That’s right – instead of pressing your panic button when you have to go up there and speak, turn the focus away from yourself and think of how you being up there can help the audience. When you focus instead on your materials and why it is important for you to speak, your fear of being judged and in the spotlight goes away. Studies have shown that by focusing on others during public speaking, your brain automatically calms the anxiety within. When you shift the attention, you are more calm and less stressed, approaching your public speaking with more confidence.

#3 Focus on what you can control
I can’t control the kind of mood my audience will be in or if they will resonate with what I have to share. But these are the things that I can control which will work in my favour when it comes to public speaking: Being well prepared for it, understanding what’s important to share with my audience, engaging them, having confident body language… the list really goes on. When I shift my attention to controlling these aspects of my public speaking, I become clearer on how to improve my skill. After all, getting up in front of an audience is a skill, and just like any other skill, it can be learned, practised, and perfected.

#4 Do it more to become better!
Whenever there is an opportunity to do public speaking, I take it. Why? Because I want to get used to being up there in front of an audience and therefore can become better at it. Here’s the deal: Actively seeking out speaking opportunities, whether it is to a few colleagues or to a room of 30 people, will only help you become more comfortable with public speaking. These all are opportunities to learn how to properly prepare for a presentation, ace your body language, practise how to make eye contact with the audience, and just generally be up there in the spotlight. Eventually, your brain will get used to the idea and public speaking will soon become a forte!

What are some of your public speaking tips? Share them with us @Graduan.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash.