Part 1

Does your heart pounds, your hands shake, your forehead sweats, your mouth goes dry and your stomach feels like a blender on high speed every time you are about to speak or present to a group?

Well the good news is that you are in the majority, and that almost everybody shows the same symptoms when they are asked to speak or present to a large group. Even the most experienced speakers still feel stage fright at times.

The other good news is that with simple techniques you can use stage fright to your advantage.

Below are 5 tips extracted from our stage fright section of our “Public Speaking and Presentation Skills” workshop:

1. Realize how your audience really feels
Although presenting or speaking seems like a test in front of a jury, however almost every audience wants you to succeed for the simple reason that you might have the knowledge/information they want. Try to remember the last time you were a member of the audience and the speaker does a small mistake; we all empathise with the speaker.

Another known fact is that the audience does not know you are afraid. All you have to do is treat the audience members like individuals or maybe like your best friends.

2. Visualize success
Just imagine yourself performing a task successfully. Apply visualizing techniques to your speech. Imagine yourself giving your talk. Your voice fills the room with wisdom. People in the audience hang on every word you say. They give you a standing ovation and rush to the stage to ask you private questions.

3. Change your physical state so that you affect your mental state
The below exercises will release most of the tension you might have before giving your speech.

• Breathe: Take a deep breath. Hold it. Hold it. Now let it out slowly. Do it again
• Stretch: Head rolls - turn head from side to side, arm lifts - stretch your right arm up into the air as far as it will go. Hold it a few seconds. Bring it back to your side. Now stretch your left arm. Keep repeating the exercise.
• Jaw breakers: Open your mouth as wide as possible, and then close your mouth. This exercise helps relieve tension in the jaw.
• Move around: Climb some stairs have a small walk, however be careful not to do it abruptly as you don't want any members of the audience to notice you.

4. PPP- Practice Practice and Practice
Steve Jobs might seem like a natural speaker, however the fact is, that he spends a lot of time practicing his speech prior to any event; and that is why he seems natural.
Stage fright appears at the very beginning and at the very end of your act, so write out your introduction and conclusion and practice it until you have it down cold, because if you do so you’ll reduce your anxiety. Anticipate problems and prepare solutions – for example, whenever you stumble over a tongue-twisting name or phrase, you can have an all-purpose recovery line ready, “let me try that again – in English.”

5. Arrive early
The fear of the unknown probably produces more anxiety than any other cause. Until you get to the site where you’re speaking you face a lot of unknowns/questions. Is the room set up correctly? Did they remember to give you an overhead projector? You can get the answers simply by going to the room, so do it early. Arriving early will also give you the chance to practice your speech on location for a last time and thus familiarising your self with the speaking environment and thus aiding your visualisation process.

Camil El Khoury
For more information about our in-house and open “Public Speaking” programs drop us a line on info@ideasgrp.com