Never Fear Public Speaking Again

"Public speaking is many people's number one fear. They fear it more than death," says Debbie Fay, who has been a public speaking coach for five years. She has three easy steps to effective, effortless public speaking.

Ignore Your Nervousness. "There is a physiological response we all have when we stand in front of a group. You can get it even sitting and speaking in a small group when all eyes are on you. Michael Motley at UC Davis has studied it. Your heart rate accelerates, adrenaline pulses through your body. These symptoms will dissipate within 60 seconds even if you do nothing to calm yourself down. I suggest to clients that they put a green dot on their note cards 45 seconds in, so they'll know their body is starting to relax.

"The nervous speaker stands up and feels her heart pounding and that's what she focuses on. She thinks, 'I'm so nervous.My neck is flushing, my knees are knocking. I'm sweating. Ohmigod, people are noticing.' That's just wrong. In truth, the audience doesn't see these things. Studies show that audiences only pick up 3% of nerves. The confident speaker recognizes the physical symptoms, then just doesn't worry about them."

Remember, It's All About Your Audience: "Your audience doesn't care who you are. They care what you say. They're there to listen. When you're using "I" or "me," you're focused on the wrong thing. Turn your focus 180 degrees. You need to focus on your audience, not yourself: what they care about, what they're worried about, what they need. Build a presentation that's audience focused."

Practice, Practice, Practice: "The most important thing anybody can do as a speaker is to practice out loud. Here's what often happens: a speaker is so nervous she won't even plan because she hates it too much and practicing out loud is too terrifying. Don't fall into that trap. You have to go through the bumpy first time. The crappy first draft. Let the first bumpy time happen alone in your house. Practice out loud, and do it more than once. I run through a speech at least three times with a client, then they practice alone.

"I have never had someone who built a presentation well, kept the audience in mind, and practiced out loud who had their time on stage go poorly.

"Here's one final thought: Never apologize to audience unless you're late, or the room is too hot or too cold. Don't apologize because your slides are in wrong order, or apologize for not being a good public speaker. It is not the audience's job to feel sorry for you or worry about you. Just remember, if you're audience focused, if you speak their language, and it you're well rehearsed, your talk will go well."

Read more about public speaking at Bespeak Presentations.