Coping with Public Speaking Anxiety

Public speaking or any kind of face-to-face interaction can be anxiety provoking for some of us. You could experience tension, nervousness, chills, shivering, black out, profuse sweating etc prior to taking up such an activity.

However, oral communication and public speaking skills are very important for professional as well as personal life. Coping with this kind of anxiety can be simple if you have the will and determination to overcome it.

Do not get bogged down or demotivated by what other may say about you. There may be glitches in the beginning as you try to cope with your fear and make an effort to speak openly.

Don’t care about the mistakes or lapses. Everyone at some point or the other makes mistakes and learns from it. It is not a matter of shame to commit errors while talking.

Take support of friends or relatives whom you trust. Begin practicing with them as they are your comfort zone. Get an honest feedback from them about your speech. Do not get offended or demotivated by negative remarks. Use it to improve your public speaking skill.

Practicing before the mirror or reading out your speech aloud will also help you to confidently interact with people.

Preparation is also essential to beat the anxiety of public speaking. Preparing your speech/dialogues well in advance can prevent panicking and fumbling at the last moment. Preparation gives you confidence in yourself.

Another coping strategy is to mentally prepare yourself. Close your eyes, imagine that you are addressing the public and visualize yourself making an excellent presentation or speech.

Visualize yourself as a confident and enthusiastic person. Make yourself falter at times and recover from it by improvising on the spot. Such mental simulation exercises will reduce your fear and help you give a better performance.

Be calm and composed before your speech/presentation. Push back the worry and fear, and give it your best shot.