COVER STORY

Fear of public speaking?

Well not anymore!

It’s time to face the audience and utter the words I had been memorizing for long... but wait! The audience is looking at me; worse they are laughing at me! I am the dumbest person on earth! Oh my God! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! There’s a lump in my throat! I can’t speak! I am shaking! Oh God! I want to die!

 Sounds familiar to you? Does your mouth also dry up and your hands shake when speaking in front of people? Do you sweat and your head spins? Do you feel like the next words coming out of your mouth are going to be the dumbest words ever uttered by a human being? Well!! If yes then you are part of a large population who is “Glossophobic”. Yes! Afraid of public speaking!

Glossophobia or speech anxiety is one of the most common fears prevailing in the world. Everyone, even highly experienced speakers face anxiety when speaking in front of a group of people.

But you know what’s the best part? Glossophobia is completely manageable and preventable! Wondering how? Well, read on!

Face your fears

It’s the fear of unpleasant imaginary scenarios we create in our mind that causes the nuisance most of the times; fear of making a mistake, fear of stumbling on the path to stage, or fear of forgetting the speech. The never-ending negative thoughts paralyze us. So in order to keep yourself from getting buried underneath it, face the problem head on! Not peeking out of your blanket or from behind the curtain but head on!

You may have had bad experiences in the past; you may have had made blunders in public that caused you ultimate humiliation, but past is past! I remember when I gave my first ever workshop. I kept strolling around the stage which resulted in me being out of breathe while delivering the workshop. Had I held to that one tiny mistake the day onwards, I wouldn’t have had the courage to move on and once again stand in front of the audience and speak.

So let the bygones be bygones! Take your lesson and forgive yourself!

Prepare your topic

A key step in overcoming the fear of public speaking is by preparing the topic thoroughly. Having deep knowledge about the topic will not only give you command over it but it will also give your confidence a boost. Consequently, your anxiety of making mistakes or stuttering during the speech will reduce. Also during the presentation, you will be able to recover quickly in case you lose track of your speech. Therefore, research! Acquire knowledge from every angle. Anticipate what kind of questions audience might ask and get ready to counter them.

Prepare a script

Yes, I am talking about a script, rather a detailed one! Taking from greetings to every joke you would crack while delivering the speech, write down everything on paper. Memorize the script. Don’t rote-learn as it can be hazardous. Just get an outline of the content and the sequence you will be delivering in.

The idea behind writing a script is to organize your thoughts. When you are in front of the audience, every second, every expression matters. If you speak off the top of your head, your thoughts might trail from one idea to another, or you might even struggle for the right word to express. This would lead you to sound and appear a bit disorganized. However, when you will write down your thoughts on paper, you get something concrete which you can deliver at the right time creating the right impact.

Added to this, preparing the topic inside out helps you prepare for the possible contingencies. I want to quote an example of a knowledgeable and learned man, who came from abroad to a conference in Karachi to present his research paper. Unfortunately, his USB got corrupted at the last moment and he was left with no material in hand to deliver the presentation from. All he could do was stare at the audience, bewildered, and utter a few words here and there in relation to the topic. Had he prepared his presentation and outlined everything he was to deliver, he would have been able to get hold of the situation and ace in presenting his paper.

 Practice

I know it may sound clichéd but practice does make man perfect, or at least better. So rehearse the speech the way you plan to deliver it. Practice the ups and downs in your tone, rehearse the pauses and stresses. If you are a fast talker, try to pace down; fast-talking generally hints that the speaker is nervous and wants to get done with the presentation as soon as possible. Also, if you would talk fast, it’s possible the audience won’t understand you.

We tend to use fillers “you know”, “umm”, “yeah” when we aren’t well prepared. My advice: Avoid them.

And lastly, if possible, give your presentation in front of a few people you are comfortable with. Ask them for an honest feedback.

Be organized

Plan ahead if you don’t want to suffer from panic attacks whenever something goes wrong. Be sure of what you want to present to the audience. If you need visuals or audio, prepare them. If you need props for the presentation, arrange them ahead of time. Never leave things for last minute as one can’t avoid the unforeseen mishaps or lapses. Also, always have a contingency plan.

Furthermore, if you are going to provide materials to the audience, always know the number of participants or at least have estimation and keep the supplies more than the expected number. Along with this, time your presentation according to the importance of each sub-topic. Make sure you leave some time at the end for the questions-and-answers session.

Create a PowerPoint presentation. It will keep the audience hooked to your speech and will keep them informed of what you are talking about. Also, it will keep you from losing trail of your thoughts. However, be careful when creating the slides. Don’t overload the slides; extraordinarily stuffed and crammed slides are overwhelming and suffocating.

Come to terms with audience expressions

To only heighten the adversity of the situation, the person’s mind and eyes become extra sharp when they are addressing an audience. Every whisper, every yawn, every person taking a phone call, it all zooms in! And there you go... PANIC!!!

So next time the moment you step on stage and face the audience, take a deep breath and tell yourself that the audience in there is to listen to your speech and not to laugh and pick out mistakes in it. Don’t equate your worth with the way you get response to your speech or presentation. Focus on your material, not on your audience.

Know the room

Try to visit the venue a day before the event. See how you can utilize the space fully. Know the available material and equipment. Familiarize yourself with the space. It will help you cut down the anxiety of experiencing the new and unknown.

De-stress  yourself

A few minutes before the presentation or speech, relax your mind and body. Go somewhere quiet, such as, a restroom. Close your eyes and take deep breathes. Shut away all the negative thoughts and focus on breathing. It is essential to purify your body from all the negative energies.

You can adopt any method that suits you. For instance, I always plug in my headphones, close my eyes and listen to songs to clear my mind. I shut away all the incoming thoughts and just focus on the song. It’s the best way I keep my sanity intact and stand steadily on the podium.

Don’t expect perfection from

You are a human being and human beings are bound to make mistakes. The problem is not in making a mistake but in not getting up again and starting off another project. Give your utmost and then just let everything be. That’s all you can really do!

Gain experience

One of the best cures of insecurity and low-self esteem as a speaker is to gain experience. Multiple institutions in Pakistan conduct various short courses and workshops throughout the year. Also, there are numerous online courses about public speaking. You can enrol yourself in and get the best out of it.

Stay positive

And lastly but most importantly, you become what you think! Whatever you visualize, it materializes. For the longest period of time, every single time I obsessed over not making a mistake and making a fool out of myself, I ended doing exactly what I feared. Undeniably, the more one focuses on the negative energies, the more one will be surrounded by them. Therefore you need to stay positive. Be yourself. Smile and feel comfortable in your skin. It will radiate.

All in all, enjoy your experience and make the best out of it!