People fear many things. From acrophobia (heights) to xenophobia (strangers), the list of potential fears is long and varied. Of course, different things scare different people. One person’s fearsome spider is another person’s pet. Yet when you research common phobias, one finding stands out. Everyone, and I mean everyone, fears public speaking. It is often the second biggest fear for most people. Only our own mortality seems to be worse.
So how does the effective communicator deal with “glossophobia”, the clinical name for speech anxiety? How can anyone share meaning in a complex world with a minimum of mental anguish? I want to share some time-proven techniques that can help.
Let me admit something first. Even after decades of successful public speeches, even after hundreds of completed presentations, I have glossophobia. Every time I am about to address an audience, there is a twinge of anxiety in my head. And every time I end a speech, a sense of relief comes over me. “It’s over!” I think. Until the next time of course. If even seasoned speakers are afraid, how can the sweaty-palmed novice communicate well?
I believe that fear of public speaking is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. I also think that it cannot be completely banished from the mind. Instead the trick is to reduce it to a reasonable level and to manage it so you can perform effectively. In fact a little anxiety is a good thing. It sparks the mind and body to higher levels of awareness and activity.
I am paraphrasing Dale Carnegie when I say the secret to mastering your fear of speaking is the following little sentence. Get ready, rehearse, and relax. You will earn the right to speak.
Get ready. Once you have a topic, you must thoroughly research and organize your content. There is no way around this requirement. You must put the work in. It has been said that even the most creative endeavor is 98% perspiration and 2% inspiration. So sweat the data and the narratives about the data, i. e. engage both the head and the heart, as I constantly repeat in my blogs.
For a one hour speech on a new, technical topic, I would expect to devote anywhere from at least four to eight hours plus in content development. Put aside preconceptions and proceed with an open mind. Read widely; talk with acknowledged authorities. Emphasize primary sources. For example, if you are talking about a physical place and what happens there, go there and experience it for yourself. For instance, if you are talking about urban parks, go to local parks and see how they are used. Or if your topic is hospital emergency rooms, get permission and observe within a local ER. (I actually did this several years ago.) Give all this input time to gestate. Go from the general to the specific. Form concepts and conclusions. Organize and outline. Master the subject. You will produce way more content than you need. Then you edit, edit, edit. That way you distill the essence of your knowledge and are equipped to present only the most cogent facts, the most interesting stories, the most compelling conclusions. You don’t need to be a expert in your chosen topic when you begin, but you will be an expert when you finish getting ready. And realizing you are that expert instills a solid confidence. Now it’s time to put it all together; it’s time to practice your delivery.
So…Rehearse. I suggest a minimum of three times. Simulate all the actual conditions you can. Use all your props and A/V aids, all your verbiage and body language. The first time is the hardest. Your speech will sound awful! But that’s okay, that’s the point. You make mistakes in rehearsal so the talk improves and you don’t make them later at the real event. The second time will be better, the third time the best. Rehearse more if needed on a particularly complex topic or if multiple presenters are involved. However, generally the usefulness of rehearsal declines quickly after the first three or four times.
Rehearse before a live audience, not by yourself. I repeat, not by yourself. This tip is really important to lessen speech anxiety. Grab a real person to see and hear you – your coworker, your friend, your spouse, anyone not connected with the presentation. The average adult is a good evaluator of your performance. Why real listeners? The answer is psychological. You will have already given the speech (before the actual speech) to thinking, breathing homo sapiens, the product of thousands of years of evolution!. Your official performance will be a repeat, not the first time. The pressure will be considerably lessened. You will have already successfully communicated before your real event.
Now…Relax. Don’t prepare up to the last minute before your speech. It is better to finish your rehearsal a day before the event; then take your mind off this obligation for at least half a day. Eat a healthy meal, abstain from mind altering substances, get a good night’s sleep. Maybe watch a funny movie or take a walk. Yoga. Meditation. Prayer. Do anything that clears the head and calms the heart. Feeling healthy is also a confidence builder.
Finally, believe in your topic, believe fervently! Never accept an offer to speak about something that does not intrigue you. If you must accept a less then desirable topic, at work for example, find something about this “dry” subject thrust upon you that is emotionally “juicy”. Your passionate embrace of a topic earns you the right to speak about it. Your thorough preparation has reinforced that emotional mindset that drives you to speak well.
Above all else, be enthusiastic about your performance. Enthusaism is the single most compelling emotion in a speaker. Learn from the greats. Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Douglas MacArthur, JFK, Mahatma Ghandi, Lou Gehrig, Martin Luthor King Jr, Elie Weisel, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Maya Angelou, Ronald Reagan, Steve Jobs, Bill Clinton, Ursula le Guin, Barack Obama. Each, in her or his own fashion, feisty or cool, plain, or erudite, embodies enthusiasm. You can have it! You won’t have time to be afraid when you are wildly enthusiastic to tell others about something meaningful to you, something close to your heart.
One more thing. In my view, the hardest part of actual, official speaking, and thus the most fear-inducing, is the beginning of a talk. To address this most difficult time, I want to restate part of my earlier blog titled “First Things First – The One Minute Hurdle” that explains how to commence your real speech:
After you have determined your opening type, write down in a dozen or so clear descriptive sentences exactly what you have to say. Then memorize those. Emphasize simple declarative sentences, the kind with a basic subject and predicate. They are easier on the tongue and allow your breathing to be more regular. You will talk and breathe better.
I do not recommend fully memorized speeches. Unless you are an accomplished thespian, they come off too often as canned and dry. I prefer the spontaneity of working from an outline rather then a complete printed text of remarks. Here though, I’ll make an exception. You SHOULD memorize your opening. Why? To soar over the one minute hurdle of course!
By memorizing your opening, you are assured at least of getting though the first minute of your talk. Once you do that, you will have primed the talking pump so to speak. You will have a natural tendency to carry on. And most likely the audience by then will be supporting you with their rapt attention. It simply gets easier as you (and your audience) move into the body of your speech. Fear is forgotten. Your confidence soars.
Therefore to cope with your misgivings about your communication abilities and to talk successfully, get ready, rehearse, relax. Earn the right to speak through honest, explicit enthusiasm. Clear the initial and highest hurdle in the first minute of your speech by a well prepared opening. No one yet can abolish human mortality and our innate dread of it. But we certainly can reduce our second biggest fear, to the point where is speech anxiety is a help rather than a hindrance in important communications. So Dear Speaker, face your fear of speaking resolutely. It’s much less powerful than you think.
Leave a Reply