Do you do any public speaking or training? If not, why? Is it
because you believe there are people who are gifted in public speaking
but not you? Or is it because you feel that you are not good enough in
public speaking? Whatever reasons (and I call these excuses) you use to
justify why you do not do any public speaking, I would still like to let
you know that you can become an expert in public speaking if you choose
to. Why? The short answer is that public speaking is a learnable skill.
There
is a saying that no one is born smarter than the others. In fact, if
you speak to anyone who is a practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic
Programming, I believe he will tell you that if it is possible for the
others, it is possible for you too.
Since public speaking is a
learnable skill, I am going to share with you 4 tips that will help you
to overcome fear in public speaking. Before I do that, I have to first
acknowledge that the original ideas did not come from me. I did not
invent or create anything new. Nevertheless, what is original here is my
unique experience, which is what I am sharing in this article.
Tip No.1: Start small first
If
you have not done any public speaking before, I can only imagine that
you would freak out if I ask you to speak in front of a large group of
people. There is no short cut in acquiring any skill. It takes time to
practise and perfect the craft.
When I first started public
speaking, I started with a small group of 5 to 10 people. The reason was
that I had to create my identity as a public speaker, and this allowed
me to form certain beliefs that I could become an excellent public
speaker in future.
In addition, I am sure that we all make
mistakes especially when we are considered beginners. Would you prefer
to make mistakes in front of a smaller group or a large crowd?
After
you get used to speaking to smaller groups, you can consider increasing
the size of the group progressively. Take one step at a time.
Tip No.2: Control your mind
I
must say that our mind has good intention for us at all times. It does
not want us to feel awkward or uncomfortable whenever we are doing
something new.
Here was what happened to me before. When I was on
the stage, I was nervous and my inner voice suggested that I should
leave the stage immediately. It did not look good on me as a speaker.
Many years later, I have learnt from my mentor that I had the power to
control my mind. With continuous practices, whenever my mind now
suggests anything that is not useful to me in a particular situation, I
will say to myself "thank you for sharing" or "shut up". Which one you
should use will be entirely up to you. Both work well for me.
Tip No.3: Have a script in front of you
From
my experience, part of the reasons why some of you may fear public
speaking is that you are afraid of making mistakes when giving your
speech. This is especially when the subject matter is highly technical
in nature.
In my case, some of my trainings involve discussing
complex financial products such as derivatives and options. How do I
remember all the important details and make sure that my participants
understand the subject matter? The secret is to have a script in front
of me so that I can follow it closely. You can consider using cheat
sheet too.
Tip No.4: Have a coach to give you feedback
My
last tip is for you to engage a coach who will provide you with
feedback on your training or public speaking engagement. Many years ago,
I thought I delivered a great training. However, my participants did
not feel the same. I did not know why because i did not seek help from
anyone.
Over the years, I have learnt to be humble and get some
experienced coaches to sit in during my training to provide me with
feedback and suggested improvement. This allows me to identify my
weaknesses so that I can improve my delivery next time.
As you
have seen, there is no need to be afraid of public speaking. You just
need more practices and you will eventually be able to deliver the topic
you are passionate about in front of a large group of audience. I hope
you find my sharing insightful and use these tips in practising your
public speaking skill.
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