Fear and anxiety are typical for first-time speakers. In fact, most professional speakers will admit to coming down with a case of the jitters before they take the podium. (Others won’t admit it, but they do anyway!)  This is totally natural – it shows that you are concerned about doing well, and that you want to deliver a high quality speech and connect with your audience!

There are three stages during which you will need to recognize, reduce, and address your fears as a public speaker: while preparing your speech, while preparing to step on stage, and while speaking.

Preparing Your Speech

It is only natural for you to get nervous long before you take the podium. This is called “Anticipation Anxiety,” and while it will keep you on your toes, it could also undermine your confidence and make you feel less comfortable when you do start your speech. So, it’s important to recognize and address the fear from the start.

Fear manifests differently in all of us. Notice in yourself: how do you typically feel when you get nervous? Does your mouth get dry? Does your throat get tight? Do your hands get clammy? A little sweat on your brow? Do you forget your place, or lose your train of thought completely?

The best way to prevent nerves is to have a well-organized speech that you have practiced. Good organization gives you a roadmap: a path with specific steps to follow from beginning to end. Be sure to memorize your opening so you have a confidence boost right from the get-go.

There are also strategies for cultivating confidence and a positive mindset – these skills will go a long way toward making you feel comfortable on stage!

Counteracting Negativity

As Hamlet said to Horatio, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Work to develop a positive mindset about public speaking. Write down some of the negative things you are thinking about as yourself as a speaker, then write down a positive statement to counteract it.

Negative: I’m not a good speaker.   
Positive: I am learning to become better by practicing!

Negative: People aren’t interested in my topic.     
Positive: If they weren’t interested, they wouldn’t be here!

Negative: Someone else is smarter than me.
Positive: If they knew more than me, they would be speaking!

Negative: I’m not the expert.  
Positive: I can always learn more from others, and others can learn more from me!

Remember, the goal is not to be perfect. You will always make mistakes but, with practice, you will always improve. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. It is better to be personable than to be perfect!

“Why Me?”

To help you gain more confidence in yourself and your topic, ask “Why me?” As in, “Why am I speaking on this topic, and why this particular topic?”

Ask yourself:

• What excites me about my speech topic?
• What do I want the audience to learn from me?
• Why am I proud of my work? 

Don’t forget that you are speaking about a topic that you have personal interest in! It’s easy to assume that other people already know the subject you’re knowledgeable about, but that often isn’t the case! Even you are speaking to a room full of experts, you have a unique set of experiences that gives you a unique perspective. You have a passion about your subject. It is always interesting to listen to someone speak passionately about a topic they love. Whenever you get nervous, lean into your passion for the subject and realize the YOU were asked to speak because YOU have something to give your audience!!

Scope out the venue

Go to the venue a day or more ahead of time to check what your speaking space will look like. Cut down on potential setbacks by familiarizing yourself with the equipment you will need. Ensure that the projector, screen, microphone, speakers, WiFi, white board, extension cords, cables, tables, batteries and anything else you need, is available and working. Nothing throws off a good speech like technical difficulties! Your audience cannot relate to you if you are fumbling around making last minute adjustments and looking like a deer in the headlights. You are setting yourself up to fail if you have not checked out the presentation space and the technology you will need.

At one of my presentations, I told the coordinator that I’d be bringing a projector and laptop.  He told me there would be a screen and a table available, and I trusted him to handle the rest.  Well, I didn’t go early to check things out. The table was a foot too low and the size of a dinner plate. The projector barely fit on the table and the image projected too low to reach the screen.  The speech was about effective presentations.  Go figure.

Preparing to Step Onstage

It’s the big day! Are you feeling nervous yet? Don’t worry – remember that it happens to everyone. Even with all of the preparation in the world, getting nervous before giving a speech is a natural reaction to wanting to do well!

Take Some Prep Time

Be sure you eat and have gotten a good night’s sleep, you have eaten something healthy, and have a water bottle handy. (Side note: do not use a plastic water bottle on stage. They can be noisy when they crinkle as you drink. Instead, use a water glass.) Arrive at your venue early! 

Spend a few minutes in a quiet, private space (empty room, your car, even a toilet seat!) doing breathing and meditation exercises. Close your eyes, pause, exhale slowly and repeat several times to calm down. 

Play your energy song “Eye of the Tiger” or “Roar.” Or do what this 3-year-old does every day on his way to preschool.

Breathe

When you breathe deeply, you invoke the Parasympathetic Nervous System, the “Rest and Digest” system.  When you do not breath deeply, you invoke the Sympathetic Nervous System, the “Fight or Flight” system. When you are nervous, you often breathe shallowly, or not at all (best not catch the attention of that saber tooth tiger!)  However, to project a strong stage presence, you must learn to speak from your diaphragm, or belly, and that means breathing deeply. This will give your voice more resonance which translates into a more authoritative voice. Breathing deeply also helps you stay “in the moment,” which helps you better relate to your audience because you are more able to notice their responses and react appropriately. 

Try breathing in a 4-4-6-2 pattern: inhaling for a silent count of 4, pausing for the same amount of time, exhaling for a silent count of six, then stopping the process for a count of two before starting again. Practice this pattern before you take to the stage.

Meditate 

Choose an image to focus on: a geometric figure, a tree, a bird, a waterfall, a starry sky, anything that relaxes you and draws you in. What color is it, where is it? How does it feel? What does it sound like? What does it smell like?

When another thought enters your mind, refocus on that image and breathe slowly but fully. Each time your mind wanders, refocus on that image.

While Speaking

When (not if) you start feeling nervous or afraid, make a mistake, forget your place, say something foolish, Freudian slip, state something incorrectly, how do you recover? Here are 15 important tips for you to fall back on when you fumble during your speech. Choose which ones you are most comfortable utilizing:

1. Don’t be afraid to pause. If you get lost or stumble, simply pause for a moment to reset yourself, take a breath, and relax.
2. Make eye contact with a friendly face and smile.
3. Repeat your last line to jog your memory.
4. Use a signature phrase throughout your speech and repeat it to give you time to regroup.
5. Review your key points up to that moment.
6. Pause, check your notes and then move on. 
7. Have a “back pocket” question ready to ask the audience which will give the audience a chance to think while you have a chance to regroup.
8. Take a drink of water. As I mentioned earlier, drink from a glass rather than a bottle – it looks more professional and you won’t hear the plastic crackling.
9. When you say the wrong words, keep your composure and repeat them correctly – don’t draw attention to the gaff. It’s likely no one will notice (or care).
10. Don’t say “I’m Sorry,” “oops,” “where was I,” or “I forgot.” This only draws attention to the mistake that may not have even been noticed by the audience. You don’t need to apologize.
11. However, if you make a huge faux pas that you know isn’t going to be overlooked, it’s OK to laugh at yourself. Bring your audience along in the moment. You can ask, “Don’t you hate it when you forget what you were going to say?” It makes you more human; the audience will relate!
12. If you notice your speech is running long, don’t speed up. Cut out parts you don’t need. People won’t know what you cut out, but they will notice you racing through your presentation.
13. If someone in the room knows something you don’t or corrects you on a point, take it as a teaching moment. Say “Thank you! I always learn something when I speak!” Don’t get flustered – you are still the one speaking. You are the expert in the room!
14. Focus on your audience, not the surroundings or outside noises to help prevent you from getting distracted. 
15. Never forget – no professional speaker is without mistakes! The difference is not in whether or not you will make mistakes; the difference is in the recovery. Don’t dwell on it. Keep going.

Be Understanding and Patient With Yourself

Your job isn’t to be perfect; it’s to relay a topic that you are passionate about, to believe in what you are saying, and to influence your audience to your point of view.

Remember – there is a reason YOU were asked to speak. You are the expert in the room. You know more about this subject than most every other person in the room, and you have a unique perspective on that subject. Your audience wants you to succeed.