A while ago I was watching
a British chat show and I was very excited because one of the guests
was Dame Helen Mirren, one of my favorite actresses. The host brought
up some theater work that the guests have done so far, and a very
interesting conversation developed between Helen and Paul Rudd as
they contemplated stage fright. Now, here was an actress with 112
titles under her belt (everything from TV series to major Hollywood
productions) and an untold number of plays as well, and yet she said
that every time she faced an audience she felt very nervous, which
included getting ready to appear on the chat show, which is shot in
front of a live audience.
Wow, the woman who had won
an Oscar and 76 other awards throughout her career was feeling
nervous about appearing in front of people. The most important thing
is that despite feeling anxiety each and every time she was about to
perform, she still went on stage, overcame the stage fright and gave
an exceptional performance – consistently for over 50 years. So
don’t worry if you feel anxious, it is completely natural, and
there are ways you can overcome the fear. Here are some tips to help
you become a more confident public speaker.
- Develop your speech around several major points
The major points will be
the skeleton of your speech - they will hold everything together and
make it easier to remember the speech and have a more fluid
presentation. As long as you are sticking to the point everything can
flow more naturally and you can develop the points you want to get
across. Even if you get stuck, you can take a breath and fall back to
the basic idea of a particular section of your speech and take it
from there.
- Memorize the key points by practicing them in different rooms in the house
Knowing the most important
parts of the speech by heart will make you more confident, and it
will be easier for you to keep going despite feeling nervous. If your
mind goes blank make a brief pause and picture yourself back in the
room practicing your speech – it will be much easier to remember
and continue your chain of thought. And most importantly, practice,
practice, practice. Practice giving the speech in front of a few
people you know, and do it when you’re alone for a few hours, over
and over again, going from room to room.
- Write down all the things that make you nervous and address them
Most people are afraid
that they will freeze and forget what they were saying, that they
will sound too timid and boring, that they will be clumsy, that their
voice will break or that they will start rambling instead of sticking
to the point. Whatever your biggest worries are, write them down and
go over them one by one. Take an area that you feel might trip you up
and practice hard to become very good in that area. If you think your
voice will break or that you will be too monotone work
on your presentation skills, i.e.
intonation and gesticulation - take some singing classes to learn how
to project your voice.
- Take public speaking courses
If you feel that you lack
the skill to write a good speech, and that you are simply getting too
many things wrong, a
public speaking course is a good investment for you.
A short course will cover all the basics and give you the most
important techniques and tips needed to overcome fear and give a very
good speech.
- Exercise and calm your breathing
While preparing the speech
and the presentation you will be under a lot of stress so it is a
good idea to engage in some physical activity in the morning and
after a busy day to blow of some steam. You will feel much better
after some running or aerobics, and you will give your brain a chance
to rest. Getting good at controlling your breeding is also important
and it won’t take more than about a week of practice to get a hang
of it. Inhale through the nose, keep it in for a couple of seconds
and slowly exhale through the mouth to the count of 8-10. This is a
basic exercise and you can find a lot more breathing exercises online
(search for yoga breathing).
Being prepared, practicing
and knowing how to give the best speech won’t mean that you will
not feel anxious – you will have to get over the fear every time
you face a crowd, but if you can calm down and fall back to your
training you will find that it is not so bad.
