Dealing with public speaking.

Public speaking, some were born to it, while others weren't. 

Public speaking is the action of communicating to a group of people in an organised, structured mannerism, to teach; influence; question; or to entertain people.

Public speaking can bring about great events, but can bring much stress to the speaker and sometimes the audience involved. So because of this, many of us stay well clear of public speaking at all costs.

Of course at certain stages in our life or on a regular basis, public speaking must be done. This could be for: work; to get certain tasks accomplished; spreading the gospel etc.

Public speaking does not have to be stressful! If you carefully look at public speaking logically and use some tips to boost your confidence while speaking publicly, you can help yourself deal with it.

Think Logically.

What is it that makes you hate public speaking? Is it the stress?; the embarrassment of getting something wrong?; afraid people will see you as boring?; nervousness? Whatever it is, stop! Take a step back and look at public speaking from a different perspective. 

How many times have you heard a public speaker? What did you think about them?, did you take an immediate dislike to the person?, did you laugh at him/her and ridicule them because they were speaking openly? No, of course you didn't. Getting over this fear of thinking that people will do this to you, must be thrown out of the window, as its not logical. 

A little bit of nerves and stress is normally good before a public speech, it helps you to stay focused on your speaking, not wanting to say or imply the wrong thing.

Many brilliant public speakers used to be people at the other end of the spectrum where you are now. Not wanting to speak openly, shy, embarrassed, too nervous, but they got through it and now feel comfortable taking on masses of people. You can do it to. Don't shake your head at me and say no, because you can.

Here are some tips you can implement when you are going to speak publicly:

1. Know the topic.

Before you make the speech, research the topic you are speaking about, and learn more about it than you include in your speech. This will help when answering questions on the chosen topic and help you with preparation. When feeling more relaxed 'up front', slipping these extra bits of information and using them as examples can help round off your speech.

2. Familiarise the room.

Make sure you know the room you'll be speaking in, in advance. Get their at an earlier time or an earlier day. This will help you to not get overwhelmed if it's a big room with many chairs laid out. You can practice speaking and voice projection. Try out technological aids if they are used, like a microphone or power point presentation etc.

3. Greet the audience.

Before you make your speech, as the audience is arriving, greet them and get to know them a bit. They won't seem so scary when looking at them, and something they say before may be able to be used in the speech as an example, or maybe you could include some humour between you and that person.

4. Practice.

Extremely important this is. Reading through and knowing your material well, is a must if you want to deliver a solidified, well put together speech. You can engage more with the audience, work out timings and pauses, and it will boost your confidence immensely. 

Memorising a speech is an even better thing to do, allowing you to look at the audience more and increasing your connection with them. Of course you should take your speech with you as well in the case of an emergency, but strictly speaking, the better public speakers are the one's who memorise and know their speeches before hand.

5. Relax.

Preceding the speech, calm yourself down and clear your mind. Think about what you're going to say and how you're going to say it. Practice smiling and deep breathing, have a glass of water.

6. The audience are on your side.

Audiences want you to do well when speaking publicly, they don't wont you to be boring, but instead want you to be: engaging, intriguing and confident. 

Sometimes though, the audience will not be rooting for you. This is normally true when you happen to be opposing something they believe. They still, however, want you to be interesting and stimulating enough to be able to watch.

7. Try not to apologize.

Don't apologize when you slip up or make a stumble. Just calmly correct the mistake not highlighting it to the audience. 

Constantly apologizing to the audience, makes them nervous in your ability to make the speech. You will feel this and will make more mistakes by doing so.

The audiences view on a mistake is either: A - They will over look it, or B - Not even notice it.

8. All you need is two or three points.

While many speakers list pages of facts and points about their topic, studies show that two or three main points for your speech to revolve around, helps convey the message just as effectively, if not more so. 

Studies also show that people remember only few facts or bits of information speakers convey, so by basing your speech on two or three main points can help in the audiences memory of it and in the directivity of your speech.