Think Smart

Public speaking and presentation are a major part of doing business today and is definitely one of the skills that need to be acquired for success in today’s business world. Whether we’re talking in a team meeting or presenting in front of an audience, we all have to speak in public from time to time.

My personal goal for this year is to improve my public speaking skills. I get butterflies in stomach whenever I have to present topic in meeting or participate in an office event. I have been reading lot of articles on the Internet to overcome fear of public speaking.

Overcome Obstacles and how to Ace Public Speaking

1. Fear: The number one reason is fear. As per research, 3 out of 4 people fear public speaking. Even Warren Buffet had public speaking anxiety at first. He forced himself to talk to people and practiced these skills over and over again to overcome it.

Mark Twain said “There are two kinds of speakers in the world .1. Nervous and 2. Liars” He also quoted that “Do the things you fear and the death of fear is certain”.

“The activity you are most avoiding contains your biggest opportunity”- Robin Sharma

Here are techniques that top influential people have used to overcome their fears.

• Organize your thoughts: It helps to reduce anxiety when your thoughts are clear.
• Prepare extensively: Write out a script of your key points.
• Practice: The more you practice, the more you will be confident which in turn will help eliminate fear of public speaking.
• Focus on your material: Know your topic and deliver the purpose of your message.
• Body Language: Relax your shoulder, smile and laugh when someone jokes. Watch TED shows or Toastmaster videos to learn from experts and observe what they do that you don’t.
• Seek support: Give your speech to your colleague, friend or family and ask for feedback. There are public speaking classes which you can join like Toastmasters. They help people practice speech to overcome their fears.

2. Filler words: – including um or ah are never written in speech, books or email and they add no value when a speaker utters them. Filler words are used when thinking, searching for right word or start new sentence. One or two filler words are normal but repeated use of filler words reduces your credibility and may sound annoying to audience. It may be perceived as lack of knowledge, lack of preparation or practice. Here are examples of filler words which are used by speakers daily.

• Filler Sounds — e.g. um, uh, ah, mm
• Filler Words – e.g. basically, actually, literally, So, like
• Filler Phrases – e.g. “I think”, “you know”, “what I’m trying to say is”

Here are the strategies to remove/minimize using fillers.

• Pauses: We have tendency to answer quickly when someone ask us question. When we are not prepared, we may simply use filler words. The Harvard Extension blog says pause, think and answer.
• Speak Slowly: If your mouth moves faster than your brain. You are likely to use more filler words. Speaking slowly not only helps to reduce filler words but also improve ability of your audience to understand you better.
• Practice Chunking: Presentation trainer Olivia Mitchell recommends chunking your sentences ahead of speaking them and then leaving a pause. Says Mitchell, “When you chunk, you get into a rhythm: burst of words/break/burst of words/break… Focus on that rhythm and your um’s will go.”
• Eye Contact: Make eye contact because it becomes more awkward to use filler words.

“Don’t be afraid of your fears. They’re not there to scare you. They’re there to let you know that something is worth it.” C. Joybell. C

Watch winning speech by Mohammed Qahtani at the 2015 Toastmasters Championship Click Here Source: You Tube. Thanks Akash Sharma for sharing this video.

Please share your comments, experiences or tips in comment section on how to overcome fear of public speaking  so that it can help people who are looking to improve this skill like me.