5 Tips to Speak With Confidence With No Anxiety

Speaking in public can be daunting and cause high levels of anxiety for many of us. Whether it is holding a meeting at work, conducting a presentation, speaking amongst a group or even speaking to friends we can suffer from anxiety worrying about what others will think of us, forgetting what we will say next, getting laughed at, being scared of not being able to answer questions, being wary of freezing in public and being laughed at by your peer group or colleagues because you have made a mistake.

This is such a common occurrence but it is something that is preventable and something that can become second nature just by practicing certain aspects of speaking in public and using different tools to overcome that fear and realising that there really isn’t anything to be afraid of, gaining a realistic and logical approach rather than using an emotional response. Below, is a comprehensive list which will help to perfect confident speaking in public.

1. Be prepared and

* Know your stuff: What ever it is you are speaking about make sure you know the information as this alone will give you confidence.
* Practice: Know when you are going to pause, know where you are going to stand and look, know how long it is going to take you etc. Know each piece of information so if you lose track you will confident you an get back on it.
* Get the lay of the land: If you are holding a meeting for example then get there slightly early to know how the room is set up, where you will stand, look and move around to etc
* How you look: Think about what you will wear that puts you at ease with confidence and makes you feel comfortable around the group you are speaking too.
* Expect to be nervous: We will try to go into a meeting or presentation trying not to feel nervous but embrace that energy and accept that you are nervous, as trying not to feel nervous can sometimes make it seems worse.



2. Just admit it

What ever it is you are speaking about make an introduction and build up that rapport with your audience straight away it will put both you and them at ease, and one way you can do this is by admitting to them you are nervous. They are human too and will completely understand as it is more common to be afraid of speaking in public than not and they would be feeling exactly the same as you if roles were reversed. So by letting them know you are mentally prepared as you will know they will be more sympathetic and your audience will probably more responsive as you humanise yourself.

3. Relax and breathe

This may sound easy but is something that can be completely forgotten when you feel uncomfortable and anxious. Relaxing can seem like something that is impossible if you begin to feel scared and worried about what will happen if you speak in front of numerous others. However, it is possible. Stretch, if you do get to your meeting early do some stretches just to relax your body and feel better about yourself and take some time out. Taking some quiet time before to collect yourself and take stock of what you are doing, try doing some positive affirmations to boost your confidence. Take a deep breath before you start and remember to breathe throughout as sometimes when we are nervous we speak too fast and forget to breath at a regular and even pace, this can make the mind and body go into panic which obviously snowballs and can lead to things such as panic attacks.

4. Be self aware:

Know your strengths and weaknesses and play on the things you know you are good at whether it is dressing well, telling jokes, using resources, remembering facts etc can make a huge difference how you interact with your audience as by focusing on your strengths you will feel much more confident in what you are doing and think to yourself ‘what is the worse that can happen?’. If you do make a mistake what really is the worst that can happen, no one is going to die, you are not going to lose your job, you won’t lose out in anyway other than making yourself feel bad and this is in you control and no ones elses.

5. Visualisation:

Visualise yourself doing the speech, presentation or meeting as roll it out in your head how it will go. If you do this and you can only picture all the mistakes you think may happen change them to something positive and think to yourself if you were in the audience what would you think. It is more than likely that you would be emphatic and sympathetic which your audience will be as well.

By practicing these things you will begin to learn that speaking in public is not as daunting as we think. The excessive worry about what people think of you is the fuel for anxious reactions and hence fear of public speaking. But becoming confident with your speaking and understanding it from an internal and external perspective is key to realising that we do not have to worry to the extent we do what others think. This can be hard thing to do, but just try taking small steps to change the way you deal with things and see the affect it has on you to feel anxiety subside over time and confidence build.