It’s possible to reduce your fear of public speaking
Practice doesn’t have to make you perfect — just better
Fear of public speaking is common, but you can overcome it with practice.
In his book It’s Not What You Say, advertising executive and speech coach Michael Parker recommends the following five steps to help you ease your nerves and deliver an effective speech:
1. Use chunks: Break your speech down into more manageable parts, and deliver them as if they were mini-speeches.
2. Conquer the opening: Your first words can be the most intimidating. Make them short, easy to say, easy to remember, and easy to listen to.
3. Use “signposts”: Come up with key words that signal each main thought in your speech, and memorize them. Signposts can help to keep you on track and reduce the need for notes.
4. Rehearse: For Parker, “Rehearsal is all about what the audience takes out, not what you put in.” This means you have to perform your speech and not just read it. Find someone neutral you trust, who can act as your audience. Their role isn’t to criticize the content, “but to encourage you, boost your confidence, and tell you how you came across.”
5. Practice the pauses: Pause to breathe deeply. Pause to collect your thoughts. Pauses increase your confidence and also make you appear more confident.
My reactions:
- If people are as fearful of public speaking as the Wikipedia article referenced above suggests, and if you also consider that capitalism rewards skills that are both rare and valuable, then it’s worth getting better at public speaking.
- For me, the other insightful point here is the value of pausing — both for rhetorical effect and to help collect your thoughts.
- Pausing may be just as useful in conversation as in public speaking. If you view speaking speed as a continuum, with pausing at one end and rapid speaking at the other, then speaking slowly might be somewhere near the middle.
- Author and neuroscientist Sam Harris stands out as someone who seems to use a deliberately slow speaking speed to great effect.
Thanks for reading!
My name is Cheo (CHAY-oh) and I believe ideas can change the world.
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