What to do and what not to become a Better Public Speaker

“I don’t like the spotlight.”

“I’m naturally shy.”

“I get tongue-tied in front of a crowd.”

“My face turns bright red when I stand up to present.”

These are the common responses by most of the speakers that we see them everyday. These are nothing but the relfex of public speaking anxiety, which can stop your growth, steal away your friend.. and you can miss the lifetime opportunity.

But you are fortunate that you come across this piece of writing in which I will tell you some of the Dos and Don’ts of public speaking.

What to do ! 

Know your material

The absolute best way to overcome your fear of public speaking is to practice, practice and practice some more. I’m not suggesting memorizing, but at least become very familiar with your main points. If pressed for time, spend a minimum of 15 minutes getting your introduction nailed. Most people are the most nervous at the beginning.

Yoga breathing

This is something you want to do just before you get up on stage. Take three, deep belly breaths. Slowly inhale through the nose for a count of 10-to-15. Hold for 15 seconds, and then exhale through your mouth slowly, again for a count of 10-to-15. Repeat three times. This helps to calm your nerves and put you at ease before you begin.

Find the friendly faces

Even if you have to “plant” someone in the audience when it’s an important presentation, look for the face that’s smiling and nodding. It’s all about building your confidence. The goal is to win over the fear. But don’t focus on them until you’ve hit your stride!

Keep in mind your audience wants you to succeed.

We all think about ourselves when we’re presenting instead of thinking about the audience. We’re worried about forgetting something or stumbling over our words. The audience isn’t aware of what you planned to say. And every single person watching you wants you to be good. They’re rooting for a strong, snappy presenter, who’s not boring. They are not looking for your faults. They want you succeed. So look into their eyes and present yourself.

What not to do!

Don’t Avoid Preparation

Don’t avoid the practice. By avoiding preparing, you don’t have to do anything, including facing the fact that you have no idea what you’re going to talk about or—more importantly—how to make it interesting.

Don’t daydream

Instead of actually preparing or practicing, it helps to delude yourself into thinking that you’ll be great. Before each presentation, I spent countless minutes daydreaming about how comfortable and eloquent I’ll be, and how the audience will love it and ask interesting and engaging questions at the end..

Don’t Over react, be natural

Since, by the time it comes to actually give your speech, you’ve been too busy avoiding and deluding that you won’t have practiced; you’ll need to wing it. Don’t worry, it’s always best when speakers are natural, so just relax, act natural and see what comes out.

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