8 Ways to Move Beyond It and Claim Your Power  

The idea of speaking in front of a group of people can be a frightening proposition. Fear of speaking ranks higher than the fear of death, reports Psychology Today.  Why? What we fear are judgment and reprisal; evolutionarily, being watched was only one step away from possibly being eaten by a big beast.  So it’s difficult for our modern brains to shake off that hard-wiring.

Done well, however, speaking in front of groups can be one of the most satisfying and memorable experiences of your career, not to mention one of the most critical for building it. Public speaking is a skill that that you can learn, and with the right amount of practice will have you looking and feeling like a superstar worthy of that standing ovation. 

Eight Strategies to Make you a Superstar Speaker:   

1. Gain confidence by speaking in front of small and friendly audiences. Consider giving a brief presentation to your department at work, or standing up and sharing your bio at a local meet-up. If you are an entrepreneur, offer to deliver a lunch and learn about a topic you are passionate about to an organization you’d love to join. Or raise your game even more by applying to be a TEDx, Pecha Kucha, or Ignite speaker. 

2.  Think about your role in this: public speaking, in a way, can be about changing your audience and adding to their trove of information. Do you want them to be able to recognize the early signs of a stroke, learn how to use Twitter for business, or confidently host a memorable dinner party? Every member of your audience will decide for themselves if what you are sharing matters in their lives, but you can certainly strive to be a great guide, with your speech being the journey. In other words, your role is to show them where they are currently, and where you want to take them. And to change your audience, you first have to alter how you view your mission on the podium. So replace any fear of speaking with a sense of guidance and helpfulness.  Which leads to the next point:

3. Through speaking you will quickly learn how to share your unique point of view despite feeling a little shaky.  Use any residual fear as a catalyst to motivate the best in you, and recognize that it’s okay to be nervous. Even some of the most skilled, big stage speakers have butterflies before they speak.

Need more help? One of the best tools for addressing stage fright is to take three deep breaths before you take to the stage. This simple act will help to calm the emotional center in your mid-brain, while capitalizing on the knowledge and wisdom held in your pre-frontal cortex. Want to calm your racing heart even more? Cheryl Dolan, communications expert recommends bouncing on a large exercise ball (fun!) to get rid of jitters before you head off to speak.

(In a personal communication, Cheryl informed me that the return on bouncing on an exercise ball is huge. She is continually amazed at how easy and effective this tool is when you use it while crafting and rehearsing your content. After 10-15 minutes on the ball, you will be solidly grounded, clear, focused, and your speech will be more fluent and your voice much more powerful.)

4. Realize that speaking is a conversation. So whether you are presenting a viewpoint on one of the big issues of the day, weaving a tale, or helping your audience connect the dots, whatever you do, stop relying on slides as your teleprompter. Be brave and bold: move out from behind the podium, and connect with your audience by making eye-contract and smiling at them. Granted, it takes a certain amount of fortitude in the beginning. You will likely experience a unique combination of fear and vulnerability. But being vulnerable is where you can quickly gain credibility with the audience by showing them that you are human.

Stepping away from reading your slides will require that you know your material well. But when you flex these muscles and your audience responds with delight, I promise you will never go back to the old ways of presenting!

5. Create your presentation in “analog.” I learned this from the best, including Garr Reynolds, Nancy Duarte, and Cliff Atkinson. Start by creating an outline for your presentation/talk with a blank wall or flip chart paper, sticky notes, and a marker. Write a single idea – it could be a few words or an image – on a sticky note, and post each sticky note on the wall. You will start to see a flow and patterns will emerge. Your core message will quickly become evident. This process will spark more ideas for your talk, and other talks as well. Rearrange the sticky notes until you feel your message is about seventy percent complete. Only then would I recommend you go to your favorite slideware — if you choose to use it at all.

6. Think like a designer. If you choose to present while using slides, consider starting with a blank presentation. Avoid the following at all cost: templates, bullet points, chunky word slides and fancy animation. Why? All of these methods detract from your message by confusing your audience.

Instead, use powerful images and as few words per slide as you can muster. Distill your thoughts down to their essence. Invest your time and money in high-quality visuals or images available through a Creative Commons license.

7. Less is more. Budding speakers have the tendency to want to share everything they know with their audience. However, “the firehose approach” to spraying information out at your audience will only result in them feeling overwhelmed and disengaged.

People are constantly being bombarded with information, and the human brain does a superb job functioning as an information bouncer: information deemed irrelevant is ignored.  Knowing this, consider cutting out 20-50% of what you plan on offering, streamline, and make it easy for you and your audience to follow the flow of your talk.

8. Start strong. You don’t need to thank the committee who brought you in to speak, nor do you need to inform your audience that you are delighted to be there. Express your gratitude by immediately engaging your audience, and be very worthy of their precious time. So:

• • • Focus on: what is the core message that you are here to share with them?
    • Be provocative.
    • Take a stand.
    • Share an unexpected fact.
    • Lead with an inspiring quote.
    • Above all, be professional and give them a reason to pay attention.

Another great strategy: tell stories or case studies, and share examples. Have a look at these the people in these videos: Gail Larsen, Nancy Duarte, and the master, Seth Godin. All these people are inspirational speakers and teachers who remind us that storytelling is the ideal vehicle to share your message.

Public speaking will change the way you see the world. It will change how you interact with audiences, and it will challenge you to move beyond your fear and self-imposed limitations. It will also alter what information you consume, and how you think, view  your work,  and your business relationships. Above all, public speaking will change you, and perhaps that is the most noble way of all to begin change in the world.