Heart palpitations, hands shaking, sweaty palms… Those are physical signs of nervousness when making a speech.
Now, let me ask you a simple question: what do you fear the most when presenting?
Is it forgetting your words? Appearing nervous? Not being understood? Making long silences?
Now take a BIG breath. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. And now, you are ready to read the following:
Fear is normal when speaking publicly. It is absolutely part of the game. It’s what gives you adrenaline. If you feel no fear, you will most probably not perform.
When fear becomes deep, a paralyzing anxiety, that’s when we need to something about it. The good news is that with good preparation, you can decrease pressure. As long as you take the time with a coach and as long as you keep an optimistic mindset.
If it’s silences that you fear the most, don’t panic.
Contrary to what one may think, silences are crucial elements to your pitch. They are very much needed.
Making a silence can help you breathe more and decrease your heartbeat. It’s not only great for you as a speaker, but it’s also super impactful for your audience.
One silence allows your audience to hear what you just said, remember what you are saying and understand how important a word is.
Silences show you are in control. Silences create understanding and impact.
Apart from silences, there are a lot of other tricks to reduce stress before and during a public speech. This includes pitch rehearsing as well as positive psychology and visualization, commonly use in self-hypnosis. This will be for another article. Take care!
Diane Gaillard, Public Speaking Coach and Communications Expert at Consultancy32
