The biggest fear in the word isn’t snakes or fear of heights or even dying.  It’s actually a fear of public speaking.  So then what can a person do to get started overcoming public speaking fear if they get jittery when asked to deliver an important speech?

You’ll find that most professionals do better with good speaking and presentation skills these days.  If you’re an employee or a student, you will probably be asked to give some kind of speech to your colleagues.

When you get nervous speaking in public, your speeches will be less understood, or you might even start avoiding situations that would require you to give a speech.  This could even escalate to shyness and other social anxieties. And that can keep you from moving ahead in your career or from getting the grades you deserve in school.

You might want to start by looking at things a bit differently.  People with anxiety about giving speeches and presentations often have goals like, “I need to get over my fear of public speaking.”  This thought pattern is not healthy because it implies that you are not good enough as the person you already are.

What you might try doing is instead, turn your attention to a more positive way of thinking.  You might try changing “I must overcome my fear of giving speeches” into something more like “I want to get my point across as clearly as possible.”  Once you have a good goal, write it down on a sheet of paper.  Read the statement aloud to yourself several times in the days leading up to your speech and imagine how you will feel and behave when your goal become a reality.

By focusing on the negative like “getting over a fear of public speaking,” you might also be setting into action a self-fulfilling prophecy.  What you focus on, you tend to get in live whether it’s “fear of public speaking” or “being a relaxed and confident speaker.”

Realize that all the fear you’re carrying with you is just in your mind.  You’ll find that the more energy you spend thinking about this fear, the larger the issue will grow in your mind.  By putting your energies toward a more positive thing like “I want to be an effective and confident communicator” you will start to build up that belief in your mind instead.

You might also consider doing other things like EFT Therapy or joining Toastmasters, a group of people that meet regularly to practice and improve their public speaking skills.

I hope that the information you’ve read here will help you feel more at ease during your next speech.  Remember to stay focused on your goal and not on what you want to avoid.  Good luck on your next speech!

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