Overcoming Public Speaking Fears

The biggest fear in the word isn’t snakes or fear of heights or even dying. It’s actually a fear of public speaking. So then what is a person to do to start beating a public speaking fear if they get jittery when asked to deliver an important speech?

You’ll find that most professionals do better with good speaking and presentation skills these days. Most careers and universities will require employees and students to give some type of presentation sooner or later.

If you are afraid of public speaking, you could be less effective at getting your point across, or it could become so intimidating that you flat-out avoid situations that require you to give speeches. This could even escalate to shyness and other social anxieties. And that can keep you from advancing at your job or from excelling in school.

You might want to start by looking at things a bit differently. When people are afraid of delivering a speech they often have goals like, “I have to beat my fear of speaking in public.” This is a problematic way of thinking because it implicitly says that you need to become a different person than you already are.

What you might try doing is instead, turn your attention to a more positive way of thinking. You might try changing “I need to get over my fear of public speaking” into something more like “I want to be a relaxed and confident speaker.” Once you have a good goal, write it down on a sheet of paper. Read the statement aloud to yourself several times in the days leading up to your speech and imagine how it will feel to you when you reach your goal and deliver a knock-out speech.

By focusing on the negative like “getting over a fear of public speaking,” you might also be setting into action a self-fulfilling prophecy. You tend to bring into your life whatever you focus on whether it’s “fear of giving a speech” or “being a relaxed and confident speaker.”

Remind yourself that it really all is in your mind. You’ll find that the more energy you spend thinking about this fear, the larger the issue will grow in your mind. When you start to focus on the positive things that you want like “I want to be a brilliant and confident speaker” you start to fuel that thought instead.

You may also be interested in other ways such as Emotional Freedom Technique or joining Toastmasters, a group of individuals that meet to cultivate the skills they need to deliver very effective speeches and presentations.

I hope that the information you’ve read here will help you feel more at ease during your next speech. Don’t forget to keep your thoughts focused on what you want. Good luck on your next speech!