3 Tips to Get Past Public Speaking Fears and Improve Your Performance
Speeches, presentations, interviews, meetings, and
social situations all require varying degrees of public speaking, and it’s natural to worry about how it will go. While some are truly comfortable in these situations, over 70% of people fear public speaking to some degree, and just the thought of it is enough to create stress and anxiety in our lives.
It’s easy for our thoughts to spiral uncontrollably in negative directions just over the thought of having to speak publicly. Feeling nervous is natural for most of us as we worry about all the things that could go wrong and not performing well.
Here are three quick tips to help you perform better and control your nerves during public speaking moments:
Step 1- Start long before the public speaking event and rehearse, rehearse, practice, practice, practice, again, and again, until what you want to say feels very familiar and you thoroughly know your content. The more nervous you get, the more you practice. Be sure to review what you want to say the day of your speaking event, as well.
Step 2- 10-20 minutes prior to entering the environment where you will speak, get your mind into the present moment by paying attention to all the mundane things you can see, hear, and even feel with your hands in your immediate environment. You might notice the sound of air going through the vents, or the grain in the wood of a table or floor, or the feel or temperature of a wall. Anything will do.
Just observing small details like this brings your mind into the present moment and into a state of flow. This also helps inoculate your mind from feeling as nervous and dwelling on everything that could go wrong during your speaking engagement. This simple exercise can help you manage your nerves and perform better when you speak.
Step 3- In the moment of speaking, any time you catch yourself contemplating negative thoughts about your performance or thinking about how nervous you feel, instead, immediately bring your attention and focus back to the present moment and what you are there to say and deliver. Use any nerves, fears, or distractions as reminders to come back to the present moment and focus on what you’re there to do.
Nerves and fears are natural, and you can’t wish them away. Instead, go through them and get better at it by using the energy to practice and rehearse until you are deeply familiar and confident about your subject matter. Then,on game day, get yourself into a flow state by tuning into the present moment, which will block you from overthinking it and revisiting the thoughts that are making you nervous. Finally, use any distractions, and fearful thoughts and feelings as reminders that you are not focused, and to bring your focus back to the present moment and what you are trying to accomplish.
Executive & High-Performance Coach
Bestselling and Award-Winning Author
A High-Performing Mind: A Proven System of Simple Steps for a Better Life
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Andrew D. Thompson is a high-performance coach, bestselling, and award-winning author who has been empowering people of all ages and walks of life including elite athletes, high performers, and business leaders over the last 25+ years. He is a former professional athlete, hospitality industry executive, and professional sports coach who survived a debilitating and life-threatening illness in 2016 that left him bedridden for months and took years to overcome. A High-Performing Mind is Thompson’s inspiring, and bestselling self-improvement book that shows you how to develop your own high-performing mind, overcome adversity, improve focus and resilience, master your fears, and perform at your best, so you can find lasting success and happiness—no matter who you are.