***Conquering Your Fear at the Lecte

In my last article, I discussed the fact that diaphragmatic breathing is the single most important thing you can do to take control your nervousness in any form of public speaking. I refer to it as the physical component of public speaking. There are 4 other factors, however, that can help you conquer your fear. They are the intellectual, the social, the emotional, and the spiritual. The intellectual deals with the knowing of your material – literally knowing your material inside out. Whether you are delivering a speech or making a presentation, if you don’t practice your script in advance, you are doomed to failure. Just as actors, performers, musicians and athletes must practice or rehearse, so too, must the public speaker. This does not mean reading your speech or presentation over in your mind: it means saying it out loud many times. The social deals with the acknowledgement of your audience. If you can make eye contact with those throughout the boardroom, the auditorium, the classroom, or wherever you are speaking, you will feel more comfortable. Zero in on your smilers as they bolster your confidence and everyone in their area will think you are looking at them. Don’t forget to scan the room from one side to the other. Looking in only one direction is not making eye contact. You must acknowledge your entire audience. Speaking with color, with life, with animation is known as the emotional. Often those who are very colorful off stage, lose all emotion on stage because of fear. The best advice I can give about speaking with color is to treat your audience as if you were having a conversation in your living room. Don’t try to be someone you are not. Be yourself. Allow your emotion to be expressed not only in the vocal variety of your voice, but in your facial expression and body language as well. And don’t be afraid to move. If you stand frozen at the lectern, you will not be able to relax. If you must use the lectern, shift your weight from one foot to another. If you are able to speak without the lectern, move (don’t pace) because your movement will help relax your audience as well. The final component is the spiritual. If you approach your speech or presentation believing that you are not going to do well, how successful do you think you will be? You must believe in yourself and do the best job that you can do. Do not strive for perfection because perfection is subjective in public speaking. Strive to do the best job that you can do and then do it. If you will learn how to breathe with support, know your material, make eye contact with your audience and speak with color, the spiritual will be a given. The next time you are scheduled to speak, make use of each of these 5 components and your chances of success will be guaranteed.