Speaking with No Fear

I prepared this little write up on how to overcome the fear of speaking earlier at the Club’s Demonstration Meeting. But I’ve decided to post it here to for the benefit of the rest who couldn’t join us earlier this evening.

N – Nag Yourself to Success
Many people will begin telling themselves how they can’t do it and various reasons why they will not be able to speak properly.

Counter that by repeatedly telling yourself the reasons why you will be able to do a good job!

O – Observe and Regulate Your Breathing!
Pay attention to your breathing and consciously take deep breathes to regulate your breathing!
Let the breathing regulate and calm your heart rate!

F – Focus on your Most powerful Experience
Think about the your most memorable and powerful experience. Was it the day you received your scholarship? Got your first kiss? Won an award?

Or how about the day you pulled off that great project – a project that few believed you could pull off?
Relive your most powerful experience and feel the confidence and power flow through your veins again.
Speak with this power in your heart.

E – Energize Yourself
You’ve adrenaline pumping through your veins. Your heart is racing and your muscles are all tensed up. Your eyes are shifty and you are unsettled.

One suggestion for handling this adrenaline induced anxiety involves harnessing this nervous energy and making it work for you! Many people tend to suppress this nervous energy and bolt themselves to the ground instead of running away. This suppression causes them to shake and tremble because they are consciously fighting against their subconscious tendency to run away!

To ‘remedy’ this, you could move around a little bit! Walking around the room and gently gesticulating during your speech from time to time allows you to dissipate your nervous energy.

A – Acknowledge Your Fears
Fear is here to protect us, not paralyze us. Don’t run away from being afraid! Acknowledge it as being part of you… use it to identify the possible pitfalls, then work to plug those loopholes that may likely go wrong during your presentation.

Being prepared and the knowledge that you’ve covered most angles will prepare you and leave you assured that things will go to plan. And if they don’t, then at least you’re all ready to execute Plan B anyway!

R – Repeat and Review
Do you still remember the first time you learnt to ride your bicycle? Were you afraid of falling or crashing?

Fast forward a few years down the road. How afraid are you now after years of cycling practice?
Repetition is the key to mastering a skill and familiarity is the answer to fear and uncertainty. The process of reviewing and strengthening one’s abilities also adds to our competency and self-assuredness.

Join a Toastmasters Club to enjoy that platform for practice and the opportunity to have your speaking skills reviewed!