HOW NOT TO BE NERVOUS WHEN PUBLIC SPEAKING

The reason most people are scared of public speaking is mainly due to fear. Fear of making mistakes on stage or fear of being embarrassed on stage. Most of these things are in the mind, we just have to overcome our nervousness and speak to the audience.

First of all you should know why you want to speak. Are you speaking to inform, persuade or entertain? If you got information to pass to the next generation or a group of people, then you should not be scared to speak, just let it flow from within.

A friend of mine was sharing her experience with me on how she wanted to speak to a group of people and when she climbed on stage, her heart rate increased, her hands became sweaty, her legs were shaking and words were no longer in her mouth. She stood on stage for about five minutes without saying a word and left hating herself. She had a message to pass but she was nervous and she allowed that take control.

I am here to share with you on how not to be nervous when public speaking, how to control your nervousness and be awesome in public speaking. So ride with me guys.

1) PRACTICE:
Guys, please make sure you practice your speech before going on stage. As a public speaker, I always practice my speeches. After practicing, you gain confidence in yourself. Do not go on stage without rehearsing back stage or hours before arriving at the venue. Practice, Practice and Practice. That is the key.

2) TRANSFORM NERVOUS ENERGY INTO ENTHUSIASM:
It’s normal to be nervous, in fact that’s what makes us human but as I wrote earlier, do not allow that nervousness take control. Be the master of your own body. Use the energy to inform others, that energy to impact others, to teach others, use that as the driving force.

If the faces of the audience scare you, then do not look at their faces, look at the top of their heads. Have fun on stage, enjoy yourself. When you make mistakes, don’t stop, keep talking. No one notices your mistakes unless you let them. So, keep speaking.

3) ATTEND OTHER SPEECHES:
No man is an island of knowledge. If you want to be a professional in your art, then you must stand on the shoulders of those that have gone before you. Attend other people’s speeches, listen to other people speak. Learn from others. Recognise their mistakes and learn from it so you don’t make the same mistakes. Go on YouTube, watch videos and be updated.

4) PREPARE YOUR MATERIAL:
If you are told to give a speech, don’t assume you know everything. Learn to prepare your material. Make researches; get new information on the subject matter. Public speakers are not dull people, they are readers. If you want to speak from your slides, then prepare it. Do not bore your audience with too many words; be brief and straight to the point. Use bullets on your slides and arrange your material.

5) ARRIVE EARLY:
Never go late to a meeting where you will be speaking. Going late will disorganise you. You need to be in the right frame of mind while speaking. So arrive early, settle in, prepare yourself and when you are called to speak, just flow like the river.

6) ADJUST TO YOUR SURROUNDING:
Last week Sunday, I was informed that I would be giving a talk on HARDWORK to some orphans. I prepared myself thinking I would be speaking to teenagers and I was ready to do what I love doing best but on getting to the venue I noticed my audience were little children, I had to quickly change the structure of my message. I brought it down to the level those kids would understand. Let your speech go in line with your audience. The way you speak to youths should be different from the way you speak to old men and women. The energy will be different. You have to adjust to the surrounding.

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https://imonitielivingstone./2018/04/02/how-not-to-be-nervous-when-public-speaking-by-livingstone-imonitie/