These days, I do a lot of public speaking and I've learned to enjoy it, but in the past, public speaking filled me with dread. I always volunteered to do it, because I like saying yes to things (more on that later 😉), but in the run-up to the big day, I used to worry incessantly…sleepless nights where I’d imagine every possible disastrous scenario like forgetting all my lines or falling flat on my face on stage. Those things never happened but the fear felt very real.
So, what changed? Well, over the years I’ve learned some tricks from psychology that helped me move from the dread of public speaking to genuinely enjoying it – and I wanted to share what I’ve learned with you…
𝟭. 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆. The fear you feel is because you want to do a good job and you’re stepping outside of your comfort zone. Rather than trying to suppress your anxiety, let it guide you – what is it trying to tell you? Usually, my anxiety is there to remind me that I have lots more work to do before I’m ready to stand up and speak. My anxiety keeps me focused.
𝟮. 𝗕𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱. I used to resist rehearsing speeches because it meant confronting the big scary thing I had to do. But there’s no way around it, you have to practice, practice and practice again. The more prepared you are, the less anxious you’ll feel and the better you’ll be on the day
𝟯. 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. Getting input from someone else is always valuable. I’m very lucky to do lots of work with brilliant business psychologist James Beevers. Every hour we spend working on something together makes the output 10 times better.
𝟰. 𝗡𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. If you nail the first 5 minutes of your speech or presentation, the rest will flow naturally. For me this means learning the first part of the presentation almost verbatim, and the rest flows on from there.
𝟱. 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. This is my favourite trick taught to me by another psychologist, and it really works! Anxiety and excitement are both strong, closely aligned emotions. Right before you stand up to speak, say out loud (or to yourself), ‘I’m excited’ – this will send a signal to your brain to fire up your ‘go’ system which is all about energy and rewards – Saying ‘I’m excited’ will make you feel and act like you’re fired up. If instead, you try to reduce your anxiety by telling yourself to ‘calm down’ this will send a signal to the ‘stop’ system in your brain which will signal caution and slowness which could make it more difficult for you to engage your audience.
Good luck in your public speaking adventures!
Dr Amy Redmond is a Business Psychologist, Founder and creator of The Aha Journal