Anyone experienced in public speaking would tell you that success is a matter of practice and thorough preparation. If you feel uncomfortable before your presentations and would prefer to run away, this feeling definitely does not last forever. Start by naming your fear. Once you become aware of what you are afraid of, you can eliminate this fear. Businessinsider.com published a list of the ten most common public speaking fears and practical recommendations to overcome them.
My voice will shake
This fear can be overcome by practicing slow, deep breathing before going on stage. The essence of this relaxation exercise is to focus only on your breathing and nothing else. Repeat to yourself: "The only thing I have to concentrate on now is inhaling and exhaling."
I will forget my speech
This fear can be avoided in two ways - by rehearsing your performances and by preparing every speech in a logical order. Do not memorize your speech, rather use visuals to guide you.
There will be a technical failure
This can happen at any time. You can, however, reduce the risk of technical failures by arriving early and testing all the tools thoroughly. You should be prepared for the situation if the technology really does fail and you have to make your presentation without a computer.
There will be a heckler in the audience
This is another situation when preparation will help you. If you start to hear some disagreement, do not ignore it. On the contrary, openly say that you see someone disagrees with you and ask him for his opinion. Then ask for the opinions of others. Do not fight with your opponents, respond with respect and empathy.
The audience will not be interested
You cannot have one hundred percent control over the audience reactions to your jokes. You can, however, reduce the fear of your audience's lack of interest by focusing the content of your speech on the needs and interests of the audience. Then your jokes will not be important. Actually, you will not even need jokes to win the audience's attention. In the case of true crisis, starting a discussion with the audience will help - ask them about their experiences.
You can read the second part of the article here.
-Kk-