Here’s How to Dazzle Everyone When Public Speaking

It could be dreadful but there are strategies that might help.

Photo by Product School on Unsplash

Let’s reminisce over a frequent nightmare that often pops up in memes and stand-up comedy bits — there you are, right in the middle of a hall or room of some sort, facing a crowd full of curious eyes belonging to people desperate to learn something new. You are an expert in the subject of choice — and before you open your mouth and dazzle everyone with thoughtful experiences and wise conclusions, you, to your terror, discover your own nakedness with hundreds of people laughing uncontrollably.

There’s a reason why public speaking often goes together with such a nightmarish vision — the idea of exposing yourself to people’s judgment and letting them hear what you have to say (together with their criticism) is fear so crippling that it made hundreds of people take a step back and avoid public speaking altogether. But at what expense?

In today’s article, I’d like to focus everyone’s attention on why participating in public speaking events is so important as well as to offer some useful guidelines and tips that could help you out if you’re about to climb the stage. Let’s get going!

Why public speaking matters — it’s a step toward self-development for sure

Photo by Kane Reinholdtsen on Unsplash

If you’re invited to participate in a public speaking event, then this means one thing — you’re considered an expert in a certain field. How cool is that!

Now, together with the excitement and anticipation that enter our minds, fear also cripples in — for some people stage fright is so strong that they avoid those kinds of events at all costs. I get it — oftentimes leaving our comfort zone is the very least we want to do; yet, this could also be detrimental to our success as we are about to miss out on tons of opportunities.

Here are some of the benefits that come out of participating in speaking events:

• public speaking gives you great exposure — that’s a great way for the audience to get to know you and remember your name as an expert in your business field;
• it’s an incredible marketing opportunity for your business — representing your enterprise in a credible speaking event is yet another amazing marketing chance for building brand credibility;
• it gives you the chance to widen your social circle — networking is always going to be a huge part of public speaking events and you’d certainly don’t want to miss on that one;
• you can find prospective clients — oftentimes people who need certain products or services tend to reach out and communicate with people representing those in seminars, workshops and conferences;
• as an attendee, you can always monitor your competitors — public speaking events are a great opportunity for business owners to have a closer look at the market and determine their competitors’ business and marketing strategies;
• last but not least, you can learn so much — the fact that you’re speaking doesn't mean you won’t be able to also attend other people’s talks and further elevate your expertise;

As we can see, attending public speaking events and actively participating in one has so many benefits — it’s not worth missing out on all those simply because you are experiencing stage fright, uncertainty or anxiety.

That’s why I’ve conducted a list of 4 useful tips and guidelines that will help you get through any public speaking event you’re about to attend without having to go through the turmoil of experiencing intense stage fright. Let’s get down to it.

4 tips on mastering your next public speaking event

1. Pick a subject you’re an expert in. It may sound self-explanatory but you’d be surprised how many people are opting for vague and rather unclear subjects (to them) only because they wish to see their names on the participants' list. However, this could lead to no good — if you aren’t completely certain you can nail the topic and answer all the following questions, I suggest you stay out of it and pick a subject you’re an expert in. You don’t need any additional stress about whether you’d be able to showcase the topic in its entirety — so pick wisely and offer your expert opinions and expertise only.
2. Play it out in the comfort of your living room. A great anxiety relief is to first play out the entire talk at home — imagine you’re on stage with hundreds of eyes staring at you and begin presenting your topic. This way you can check the time and make all the necessary adjustments. You can also exercise your speaking speed, and pauses and learn your talk by heart.
3. Invite friends over and ask them to listen to your talk. This way you can receive helpful feedback — your audience can share how you look, is your talk clear, are you able to make a point, can you provide them with insightful knowledge and are left with important know-how and guidelines.
4. Clear your mind on the day before the talk. Get some sleep, engage in different activities and try not to overthink what’s about to happen the next day. This will help you get more focused and will ease your anxiety. Enough preparation is enough — the day before should be dedicated to your inner peace and concentration.

Try those tips out and I’m certain you’ll quickly witness improvement — you’d be more relaxed and ready to hit the stage and offer the audience a dazzling talk offering tons of experience. Good luck!