Scared of Public Speaking

LegacyUser

Hi I am a 29 year old male and I am pretty terrified of public speaking.....it is something I have always avoided so I have zero experience in it.....I mean speaking up in tutorials in college was a no go area for me......I am fairly confident in the rest of life and have improved in general...but public speaking still scares the crap out of me....my main fears are when I start speaking that people with notice my nerves, shaky voice, I lose track of what I want to say because my mind starts racing, start to sweat and then people notice this etc..etc!!

So I want to confront this, I am thinking of starting a public speaking course......can anyone recommend a good one in Dublin for complete beginners??

Maple

Please note that tips for speaking in public are welcomed on this thread however PI is not for requesting reviews on specific organisations.

Maple

baby and crumble

Public speaking can be very scary for a lot of people. I have to speak a lot in public, and it does get easier with time. The big trick when you're starting off is to remember a few things:

1) If you are speaking in public then more than likely someone (if not everyone) in the audience will be interested in what you have to say. Especially if it's in a work environment. They came to hear you speak. If nothing else, someone will always be nice enough to pretend. Find a few people who are being attentive, and move your eyes around to them, if you can.

2) No-one minds a bit of nerves. I have been to lots of conferences where there are speakers who are obviously nervous, but nobody minds. Because everyone who speaks in public had nerves their first few times.

3) Be prepared. Like, really prepared. When I first started I would have everything written out, a speech. Until you get your sea legs, that's fine. Once you get more confidence built up, you can have bullet points, and so on.

4) Slow down. No matter how slow you think you're speaking, you're probably speaking too fast. Irish people speak fast naturally, and then when you're nervous you speak even faster. That will make you more likely to make mistakes, which will sap your confidence. That's what I have found hardest, especially since I tend to be speaking about something I'm interested in, so I get excited. :rolleyes:

It's very much like grasping a nettle. You just kind of have to go for it, and after a while you develop something like a callous!

I adore public speaking. Then again, I love being the centre of attention! But I still get nervous before I speak. I know lecturers and researchers who have been presenting at international conferences to hundreds of people at a time, and they still get nerves. It's perfectly natural.

RandolphEsq

People are there to listen to you, this is what gives me a boost. It all comes down to experience though, the more you do it the easier it is to do it. Just take the plunge and go ahead and get that first episode out of the way, you will love the rush you get from it!

Corkblowin

Agree with the others - the first few times I had to do stuff I raced through it and found I left out bits, or didn't get understood. Slowing down is a must!

One tip I got was for my hands - I never knew what to do with them. I now always have a pen now - it doesn't look out of place and looks better than sticking them in your pockets!

You'll get there - practise practise practise!

Stheno

baby and crumble wrote: »

Public speaking can be very scary for a lot of people. I have to speak a lot in public, and it does get easier with time. The big trick when you're starting off is to remember a few things:

1) If you are speaking in public then more than likely someone (if not everyone) in the audience will be interested in what you have to say. Especially if it's in a work environment. They came to hear you speak. If nothing else, someone will always be nice enough to pretend. Find a few people who are being attentive, and move your eyes around to them, if you can.

2) No-one minds a bit of nerves. I have been to lots of conferences where there are speakers who are obviously nervous, but nobody minds. Because everyone who speaks in public had nerves their first few times.

3) Be prepared. Like, really prepared. When I first started I would have everything written out, a speech. Until you get your sea legs, that's fine. Once you get more confidence built up, you can have bullet points, and so on.

4) Slow down. No matter how slow you think you're speaking, you're probably speaking too fast. Irish people speak fast naturally, and then when you're nervous you speak even faster. That will make you more likely to make mistakes, which will sap your confidence. That's what I have found hardest, especially since I tend to be speaking about something I'm interested in, so I get excited. :rolleyes:

It's very much like grasping a nettle. You just kind of have to go for it, and after a while you develop something like a callous!

I adore public speaking. Then again, I love being the centre of attention! But I still get nervous before I speak. I know lecturers and researchers who have been presenting at international conferences to hundreds of people at a time, and they still get nerves. It's perfectly natural.

I work as a trainer and speaker on my area of speciality and have to say this post sums much of it up

Slow down, engage the audience if you can in your subject and ask if anyone can correlate what you are talking about to their experience.

Find something to occupy your hands, I use power point and have a clicker you can pick up on amazon for 30e

Last week I gave a presentation to three groups of 30-40 people in one day, if you'd told me a year ago I'd do that I'd have laughed at you. I did use all of the tips the quoted poster and I have outlined, and all three audiences applauded afterwards.

One additional tip. Most people are petrified of their life of public speaking, and admire you for stepping up in the first place, and doing it, and you will always engage with at least one person in your audience.

My best suggestion foc would be toastmasters, go to a few meetings and observe make a few friends and explain your fear, you'll have a few cheerleaders in the audience to focus on then when you first give it a go I've gone from being a wobbly mess in front of 10 people 7 months ago to being able to happily stand up in front of an audience of 100 people now.

Best of luck

jimmycrackcorm

Find you nearest Toastmasters club - it's a great environment to build up public speaking skills.

Zen65

Shyboy145648 wrote: »

So I want to confront this, I am thinking of starting a public speaking course......can anyone recommend a good one in Dublin for complete beginners??

Join your local Toastmasters.

It's the best way to build up a skill in public speaking.


Be at peace,

Z