In high school, I was so afraid of being called on to speak that I would sit in the back of the classroom. In college, I so dreaded taking the mandatory public speaking course that I put it off every semester for three years, upon which I transferred to another school where it was no longer required. In my early business career, I never wanted to respond to questions in staff meetings and was terrified of having to make presentations (and I was in sales!). As a certified professional career coach, public speaking has become key in establishing myself as a thought leader, building my client base and helping others develop strong public speaking skills to add value to their own careers. So, how did I go from cowering in the back of a classroom to most recently presenting in a theater that seats more than 2,500 people? I did it by taking several roads less traveled and picking up a few tips along the way.
1. Understand your audience’s motivation. People are not there to see you fail. They didn’t take a front-row seat to see you shake and stammer. Rather, they recognize you as someone they can learn from, someone who can offer a solution to their own challenge. So, understand their motivation for listening and focus on the gift you can give them. My first deal-winning sales presentation to a major prospect came about because I shifted my internal self-talk from “me as public speaking victim” to “me as a knowledgeable expert with a solution to my audience’s problem.” Be your own biggest fan and supporter.
2. Prepare to feel at home. I quell the pre-show jitters by walking the stage before anyone even arrives. I get a feel for the room and where the audience will be. This applies to meeting rooms, conference halls and auditoriums, too. I get comfortable with the venue so it isn't a stranger to me. That way, when the lights go up and the microphone is on, I'll feel right at home.
3. Nail your opening line: The fear of public speaking escalates during the days preceding the dreaded and inescapable event. Nobody does it to us. We grow the terror within ourselves. It reaches its boiling point as we approach the podium, look out at the audience and have to utter our first sentence. Calm your fears by rehearsing your opening line to perfection and use it to engage your audience. Once you have made the connection, the dividing line between speaker and audience becomes invisible and you are one. You'll hear yourself speak, know your voice didn't quiver and can rest assured that, from that moment on, the presentation is going to go great.
4. Be a storyteller. I have always gotten a kick out of going to the kids’ section of Barnes & Noble to hear children’s book authors tell stories to the young folks gathered around them. It’s a lesson in how to capture the imagination. As an author of several books, I’ve learned and applied much about the power of stories to my own work. Telling stories in a presentation gives you the opportunity to inspire and relate with your audience by sharing how you’ve faced similar challenges and how you overcame them.
5. Jump in. You can’t learn to swim by sitting under a beach umbrella with your feet in the sand reading every book on the art of the breaststroke. You learn by jumping in. And, the more you do, the more you learn how capable you actually are of accomplishing those very things you fear the most. I overcame my fear of presenting by taking Stephen Rosenfield’s stand-up comedy course at the American Comedy Institute. If you want to feel what it's like to be eye-to-eye with the fear of public speaking, experience those five minutes before going on stage to a packed room at New York City’s legendary Gotham Comedy Club. It’s the moment of truth, the time to commit. On the other side of facing your fears is knowing for the first time that incredibly powerful feeling of “I did it.” That overflowing confidence will then spread into every new challenge you undertake.
