The Blog For Entrepreneurs

Firstly, however, I would like to discuss WHY public speaking is so important to you if you are going to be a successful entrepreneur.

If you want to earn a reasonable amount of money, pay the bills have a great life, but have no ambition of hitting the big time, then maybe public speaking is not as important, but if you want to excel, then the ability to get up in front of people and talk is crucial.

It is not just the investor presentations, the employee presentations, the keynote speeches and the sales presentations that you do that will help you increase your business, it is the confidence that you will gain. Imagine having the skill that the majority of people never master and consider a top fear, this is the most important thing, because being confident and being an entrepreneur go hand in hand.

Physical things we can do to overcome the fear

1. Prepare, but don’t over do it

Whenever I do a speech I get it in my mind. I say it over an over until I can ad-lib it almost. If I use notes, I get some index cards and put bullet points on the card. It may be different for you, but in my opinion it is a mistake to have full notes. 1. Because you will naturally keep looking at the notes and not engaging your audience and 2. Because if you lose your place, or get off track, with a stack of notes is difficult to go back on track because you are faffing around looking for your place in the notes.

Bullet points on just a few cards will trigger the talk you have remembered and make the speech seem much more natural. If you get lost, it is easy to see the bullet points and get on track again.

2.Breath!

It is so tempting, when you are really nervous to go through a speech as fast as you can. If you do this you can end up breathing too shallow. If you are not getting enough oxygen inside you then any feelings of anxiety can be increased. Just take your time and breath!

3. Look at your audience

Remember we talked about how your audience are already in awe of you for being able to perform a skill they are probably terrified of? Then look at them and see them willing you on. Sure, there will be shufflers and people going to the loo etc, that happens all the time! But I bet there will be some faces willing you on.

4. Having something to stand behind can help

If I am delivering training or coaching courses I like to be out in front with nothing in front of me. However, as a beginner you may find that having a lectern or desk in front of you creates a prop to help you. When I started I know I preferred to have something there.

5. Check out all the equipment

If you are talking to a fairly large group you may end up using a microphone. Try and use a lapel microphone if they have one. If you are not used to using a hand held you can start waving it around as you gesticulate in your speech, this causes some of your words not to be heard, and people get frustrated.

It is important, however, to make sure that you either know the equipment already, or you have access to it before you do your speech. Sometimes this is not possible and you just have to wing it, but I would suggest if this is one of your first speeches, to do a little check.

6. Enjoy it!

This probably sounds ridiculous to someone who is fearful of making a speech but it is possible. If you use the mental tools we talked about in the last article and have been using the physical ones we talk about here, you will be able to slow down the nerves that you have. When you start getting into your stride you will have an opportunity to enjoy it.

7. If possible meet your audience afterwards

If you intend to conquer the fear of public speaking fully, this is crucial. I have seen many people new to speaking scurry off after their talk. The best thing to do is hang around, I guarantee not one person will criticise you. All you will get is massive compliments, even if you think you have been really bad. This is a great boost for your belief system the next time you do a talk.

These tips above are just my thoughts on how I managed to overcome my fears and how I manage my nerves. This is a good point to end it on here too. I have performed at many talks, sell myself as a public speaker and coach, trained hundreds of sales people in innumerable training sessions but I still get nervous. Nerves are completely natural, all you need to do is manage those nerves and the tips we have mentioned in these couple of articles can help you do that.

Regards
David
@OneLifeNoFear