A skill that must be mastered if you want success in life
Summer Lotus Dec 15th 4 min read
According to the National Social Anxiety Center, the fear of public speaking, also known as glossophobia affects about 73% of the population. It precedes the fear of death which seems ludicrous but is real for many people. Worries about negative judgement, failed performance, rejection, and ridicule may cloud one’s mind so much that much stress is created to impede the actual performance.
In a worst-case scenario, a condition equivalent to the mind blanking out or known as ‘ brain freeze’ may occur where anxiety is overwhelming. Dr. Michael DeGeorgia of Case Western University Hospitals, says: “If your brain starts to freeze up, you get more stressed and the stress hormones go even higher. That shuts down the frontal lobe and disconnects it from the rest of the brain. It makes it even harder to retrieve those memories.”
The following tips may help
1 Understand your audience — Your audience wants you to succeed otherwise they would not be spending precious time to listen to the speaker. Take comfort in the fact that many speakers do falter, even experienced ones and they are ways to get back on track. The audience usually has other things on their minds and is not judging the speaker as believed.
Enjoy the pause and smile. The trend of thoughts will return. One witty speaker tells the listeners, “Let’s take a minute to allow all of you to reflect on what we have covered so far”, then quietly look at his notes or try to recall and continue with the presentation.
2 Rehearse often to improve self-confidence — -In Dale Carnegie’s famous book on “How to win friends and influence people”, you can build confidence by smiling, making eye contact, acting confident and you will become confident by the right posturing and practicing whenever the opportunity arises no matter how small.
Memorizing a prepared speech tends to confine us mentally. Try to remember the key points and extemporize from them. Believe in your ability to do that if you have made adequate research, preparation, and practice.
You could rehearse before a friend or a mentor who can give you a constructive evaluation of your performance. Or you could record yourself and fine-tune each time.
Offer to speak when given the opportunity and reflect on what you have spoken so that you can improve each time.
3 Stay Calm and relax — –
a)Regular breathing will relax you. Speak at a steady rate but not forgetting that the appropriate use of the vocal variety, clarity in pronunciation, and volume of speech all play a part in delivering the message effectively.
b)Visualization may help one in achieving a successful presentation. Think of a positive result and you will gravitate towards your goal. Visualizing your audience happy and applauding you only helps one instead of focusing on negatives.
4 An impressive presentation — -Use the latest technology to your advantage providing clear and relevant points to bring your message across. You can exceed expectations with the right tools.
Make sure that your speech is organized with a proper introduction, effective body content, and a conclusion that appeals to your audience that aligns with the objectives of your speech.
Intricacies of good speech content can be mastered. Read up good speeches by eminent people and analyze why they can galvanize the crowd to action.
Speaking within the time allotted shows respect for the audience. Once, a speaker went overtime 45 minutes cutting into the audience’s dinner time and the audience had started to stir but to no avail. He had not picked up the signals and many have already stopped listening and anxiously anticipating dinner.
5 Join a Public Speaking Course or Club — Sign up for Communication Skills Course or workshops and participate actively. One of the most effective course is to join Toastmasters International.
Toastmasters Clubs which originated from Toastmasters International is found in more than 145 countries serving more than 350,000 members and are still actively sought by people from all trades to improve communication skills.
They have a very structured and comprehensive program that enables new members to improve their speaking skills and many have gone on to experience personal and career success.
The course focus on the delivery, content, and effectiveness which are the mainstay of a good presentation. You also learn about the effective use of the English language such as the use of its rhetorical devices. It is the best and safest platform to practice as members meet regularly and is a very nurturing environment for new speakers. Moreover, the mentoring program in Toastmasters is a great assistance to newbies.
More about Toastmasters International
After 35 years of being a Toastmasters member, I can attest to this fact. We watched how fellow members excel in their careers and are much happier in their lives due to better communication skills. Famous toastmasters include authors such as Napoleon Hill and Harvey Mackay, many actors like Tim Allen, and former governors and US senators who have acquired their skills from Toastmasters activities.
Conclusion
Leaders, successful entrepreneurs, CEOs all share one common trait. They can speak well. Good communication skills are what makes them succeed. The ability to inform, inspire, and persuade can motivate their staff to achieve corporate goals and win customers.
Public Speaking is one of the most essential skills to master by each of us. We determine our success if we work hard at it. The road to success is for us to traverse. In today’s world, learning is made so easily available because of access to the Internet. Even in a pandemic, using Zoom, members could still hone their presentation skills.
Along the way, expect pitfalls but each time, we must pick ourselves up and hone our way to become a seasoned speaker, and progress in public speaking skills will translate into success in many aspects of our lives.
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