| Is there a great speaker hiding with you? | | | | speech. Invest a couple of minutes reading |
| | | | Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and you'll find |
| "Not hardly," you may be thinking. Think | | | | it tough not to be charged up to deliver the |
| again. | | | | best speech of your life. |
| | | | |
| The fear of speaking in public is | | | | 5. Nail your first few sentences. There's no |
| well-documented, often discussed, and | | | | question that the first minute or so is the |
| probably overrated. The great news is that | | | | most nerve-racking. Practice your first |
| speaking in front of a group can be an | | | | sentences over and over until you have them |
| entertaining and energizing experience for | | | | nailed! The more comfortable you feel with |
| even the most fearsome among us. | | | | the first words out of your mouth, the sooner |
| | | | you'll stop feeling nervous. |
| Try these 10 ideas to enjoy speaking and to | | | | |
| sharpen your delivery: | | | | 6. Act like you're comfortable. "Fake it 'til |
| | | | you make it," as the old saying goes. Pretend |
| 1. Be yourself! Every person is inherently | | | | that you're an accomplished, confident |
| charming and interesting, especially when we | | | | presenter. Think about what a seasoned |
| feel confident. The only trouble is that we | | | | speaker thinks about when they're ready to |
| don't always let the good stuff come out! Let | | | | speak: "This is gong to be great"; "I can't |
| your natural personality come out, and you'll | | | | wait to get started"; "I know my information |
| be terrific. Enjoy what you're speaking on, | | | | can help the audience"; "All I have to do is |
| and the audience will love you. Often, the | | | | my best." |
| more you try to sound impressive, the more | | | | |
| you come off sounding insincere. | | | | 7. Practice, practice, practice. Abraham |
| | | | Lincoln, a true master of self-improvement, |
| 2. Give yourself permission to feel nervous. | | | | was committed to becoming an outstanding |
| Don't concentrate on your nerves. Even the | | | | speaker. He carried slips of paper in his |
| most seasoned, experienced presenter can get | | | | hat, and while walking to work, he pulled the |
| nervous. There's no shame in feeling a little | | | | slips out and read them aloud to practice. |
| scared. But here's a common mistake: Many | | | | Nothing will skyrocket your confidence as |
| people, when they begin speaking, start to | | | | much as practice and preparation. |
| focus on how nervous they feel. They worry | | | | |
| about their hands shaking, and they notice | | | | 8. Work on speaking distinctly. To help you |
| their voice quivering --- which, not | | | | sharpen your pronunciation, read aloud from |
| surprisingly, makes them feel more nervous! | | | | Shakespeare, from the King James Version of |
| Instead, realize that it's OK to feel a | | | | the Bible, or from any other work that has |
| little nervous for the first minute or two, | | | | beautiful, lyrical writing. |
| and concentrate instead on serving the | | | | |
| audience. | | | | 9. Be grateful for your nerves. A little bit |
| | | | of nervousness is a sign that your adrenaline |
| 3. Forget about yourself. Stop worrying about | | | | is up and running and your body knows you're |
| your hair being perfect or your voice | | | | about to do something interesting. That |
| sounding odd and start concentrating on | | | | adrenaline can help you stay excited and |
| serving the audience. Focus on delivering | | | | energetic. So remember, your nerves are your |
| value to the audience. Think about | | | | friends. Just don't let them run the whole |
| accomplishing your objectives for the talk. | | | | show. |
| The truth is, most people overestimate how | | | | |
| much the audience focuses on the speaker's | | | | 10. You're the expert! Being asked to present |
| abilities. All most audiences want is good | | | | on a topic is a pretty strong sign that you |
| information that's not boring. | | | | know more about it than the audience does. |
| | | | It's possible you may get stumped now and |
| 4. Learn from the greats. Get copies of | | | | then, but overall, you have the advantage of |
| speeches you really enjoy, and read them to | | | | knowing more about your subject than anyone |
| "prime the pump" as you prepare for the | | | | else in the room. |