How do you overcome speech anxiety?

Understanding your audience is a crucial aspect of effective public speaking. It helps us craft a speech that resonates, keeping your content relevant, relatable, and engaging. By considering their backgrounds, interests, and expectations, you can tailor your delivery to evoke desired responses, ensuring your message not only reaches your audience, but also influences them effectively.

I get very nervous before speeches and I find practicing in front of the mirror and knowing my script well helps me feel confident. I also try to ensure when I deliver the speech I find a couple of people as my focal point this helps me ground myself when doing the actual speech as well.

1) Going over your speech and finding "Key moments" within your speech will always help. In my 30 years of public speaking, knowing these key moments in my speech helped my brain remember the rest. 2) Be your worst critic. I've listened to myself hundreds of times and caught my own flaws and learned from them and made adjustments accordingly. 3) Make it your own. Trying to find personal illustrations from my life and connecting those illustrations to my major points has always helped to drive home the points i'm trying to get across.

Confidence is not given, it's earned. I was definately not born rehearsed. Whilst I love public speaking now, I was not always ready to get on stage. Its taken years of practice and coaching. I found that recording myself or practising to people around me really helped

Relaxing and breathing is helpful to calming you and keeping control. And, there are times where you may want to leverage your internal energy. When I feel an energy build up, instead of interpreting it as butterflies and nerves, I use the energy for something else. I may shadowbox backstage or jump up and down for a few moments. I intentionally lean into the biggest smile I can muster and imagine myself as an athlete coming out from behind the curtain and making my way down to the ring. No, I'm not coming to knock them out...but I'm going to be the best they've seen!! :)

One thing I've found helpful in 10 years as a public speaker is reading my speech aloud during preparation. I look for points of humour, interest or 'a-ha' moments that hopefully, my audience will also find If I can't locate them, it's time for another draft! But it gives me confidence that my text will deliver on its promise, which improves my delivery.

I present Continuing Education Courses around the country. What I find important is knowing that none of us know it all. Stumped by an audience question? That's OK. "Great question! Does anyone in the audience have experience..." If not, then "I'll get an answer and follow up with you" works quite nicely. My last presentation I made the comment "When you meet somebody that knows everything (pause for effect)..." A few in the audience spoke up "definitely get their number" along with a few other comments to which I replied "run! Nobody knows everything." We enjoyed a collective laugh and I complemented them for what I learned from them. I refer to myself as a "Facilitator and not a presenter." I enjoy the interaction.

From my experience as a career coach and public speaking trainer, engaging and interacting with your audience is a powerful strategy to alleviate anxiety during public speaking. Initiating a dialogue, asking questions, or encouraging audience participation makes the event feel like a conversation rather than a monologue. This approach reduces the 'spotlight' effect, fosters a sense of connection, and creates a more comfortable and relaxed speaking environment, helping to ease nerves and boost confidence. Also during an interview which is another public speaking opportunity this approach helps and keeps anxiety at bay.

From my travles as team captain, fraternity president, security guard, teacher, coach, mentor, and claims adjuster I find myself speaking to groups of people all the time. No matter what the subject matter I always try to inject a "light-hearted" comment and/or sometimes an off topic comment to see the audience's reactions. Any feedback, good or bad, shows at least part of their attention is a one me. From there I will incorporate hand gestures, engage one person directly, or change the tone of voice to keep their attention on me. Every audience is different and you have to adapt to your audience regardless of the topic to ensure they are actively listening.

Whenever I feel those public speaking nerves creeping in minutes before I am due to make a start, I choose to focus on gratitude and positive self talk. 1. Verbalise gratitude for your loved ones. Take a moment to feel your heart and appreciate people in your life who love & support you. This can help you feel more present, connected and grounded before you enter the stage. 2. Focus on positive self-talk. If you're feeling anxious, observe your thoughts & focus on what’s positive. Use positive affirmations like, "I am confident that I’ll learn something from this experience”.

Focus on the audience and the experience you are creating for them- the message is going through you as you are the instrument- this shifts focus and takes the spotlight off you and allows for space to breathe, ground and deliver.

From the perspective of a musician, I offer these performance tips. Record and listen back critically to your delivery to assess the sense of flow you are creating. Where are the places your voice sounds confident and sure, and where does it waver or pull back? Examine and "workshop" those trouble spots. Is it that you simply don't remember? Are there words or ideas that could be edited out to improve clarity? Are the order of the words simply cumbersome? Or is there an emotional trigger...something deeply meaningful to you at that spot? Can you access your imagination and connect the content to your experience and speak authentically? Preparing in this way will ensure a deeper connection and impact with your audience.