Public Speaking In Virtual Or Face To Face Environment

The average person ranks the fear of public speaking (glossophobia) above all the common fears like Acrophobia, Claustrophobia and others. The truth is this fear can hurt the professional and personal life of a person.

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” – Jerry Seinfeld

In business, it is important to be able to get the point across. Everyone likely has to speak in public one day. Whether it is a formal presentation to an audience or a simple business meeting, public speaking skills are vital to get head in a professional setting. Maybe even you have been there before. You may feel nervous; your stomach ties itself into knots, and sweaty palms.

With almost half the world’s population in lockdown, people are working more on honing their skills. This pandemic has provided many people an opportunity to work on their public presentation skills. The fear of public speaking is real. However, there are public speaking courses to help you overcome this fear and positively harness your energy.

Here are 6 public speaking tips for your next oral presentation or speech:

1. Organize your thoughts
When you organize all of your thoughts and materials, it assists you to become much more composed and peaceful. When you have clear and organized thoughts, it can reduce your speaking fear because you will be better focused on the one thing at hand – giving an amazing speech.

2. Throw out the fear of rejection
You should eliminate all of your fears of rejection. It will be wasteful to think “what if my audience hates my speech? What if they boo me off stage?” All these negative thoughts are worthless.

“Rejection and the fear of rejection is the biggest impediment we face to choosing ourselves.” – James Altucher

3. Watch yourself in the mirror
Practice your speech in front of the mirror as if you were addressing the audience. You should also pay attention to:

• Your facial expressions

• Your body movements

• Your gestures

When you have gentle expressions and a calm demeanour when you speak, you will be more welcoming to your audience.

4. Work on your breathing
Your voice will have more resonance if you focus on your breathing. So, you have to breathe calmly and focus on getting into a rhythm. Breath-work is considered as one of the best speaking exercises. This exercise also helps in reducing stress.

5. Record yourself
Record your speech from beginning to end. Then, listen to it and watch it properly. This is an amazing technique to improve the way you talk. Some people dislike listening to the sound of their voice on tape, so you must get used to your own voice and speaking style.

6. Public speaking courses
You can search for a great coach or mentor. There are great places where you excel in the art of public speaking. But, if you want to learn from the best, you should join one of the most recognized public speaking courses in Dubai.

A huge component of overcoming your fear of public speaking is by ensuring that you are prepared and confident in the material you are presenting.

You need to keep on practising to deliver a good speech. Remember what Mark Twain said,

“It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech”.