Fear of public speaking seems to be universally man’s greatest phobia—ahead of even fear of death, according to Psychology Today. Yet glossophobia can be overcome (or at least, greatly reduced).
Here are 3 tips to help you achieve your goal as painlessly as possible.
1-Speak Often and Regularly
People who never overcome a fear of public speaking are also people who try to avoid it as much as possible. As a result, their speaking gigs are few and far between. As a result, they don’t build on previous successes or grow comfortable through repetition. Every time they have to speak in public, they feel as if they are starting over again from square one—and emotionally, they are.
Create a speaker schedule for yourself. Host a podcast or monthly webinar. Do Facebook Live videos. Volunteer to give talks at your local business organizations, non-profit clubs, colleges, schools or university. Space them out so that at least once a week, you’re talking to someone, somewhere.
This is the quickest and most powerful way to permanently knock the edge of your glossophobia and bring public speaking to an enjoyable, comfortable state.
2-Make Breathing Your Best Friend
One of the biggest favors you can do for yourself is creating a routine to slow and deepen your breathing before you go live or step out on stage, because nervousness is physical, and using a breathing routine breaks the fear cycle.
Our bodies respond physiologically, as well as emotionally to stimuli. When you are about to speak on stage, your heart may race, your palms will sweat. You might feel shortness of breath, constriction in your throat—all the symptoms of a severe anxiety attack, in fact.
Slowing and deepening your breathing (doing pre-speech breathing exercises) changes this physical fear response. Your body will calm down before your mind does! And what is even better, your habit—your slow-breathing, pre-speech routine—will ‘cue’ your body and your emotions to calm down and function, every time.
3-Ditch the Visuals and Go for Paper
While human beings seem to universally enjoy visual stimulation, don’t rely on props to make your talk interesting. If your fear of public speaking is compounded by or created by a fear of tech glitches, ditch the PowerPoint presentation you’ve been angst-ing over, and instead hand out Worksheets or Checklists—something tangible and helpful they can physically take away with them.
Handing them out before the presentation and asking people to refer to certain portions of your handout is a low-tech way to create engagement and interaction… but if you prefer to hand them out afterwards, invite people to take notes but let them know you’ll have a ‘takeaway’ handout, so they can focus on and enjoy the speech.
