Grab the Mic and Represent While You Present

 

Jill Jones nervously walked out onto the stage, her essay tightly bound in her hand. She got to the podium when all of a sudden, the words got jumbled in her head, she started stuttering and her palms started to sweat. Jill started looking into the audience, looking at their faces, she got more nervous analyzing what they were thinking and ran off stage. Jill suffers from Glossophobia, a fear of public speaking, and more than 5.4 million Americans suffer from it.  To overcome the fear of public speaking, you need to prepare, relax, and channel your way of thinking.

Many suffer from the fear of public speaking, but preparing will help you lower your anxiety. Preparation will most likely help you approach your speech with confidence. Make sure you research your topic weeks before hand. You need to rehearse what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. Reading a slide or paragraph multiple times will encode the information into your long-term memory. Practice your speech in front of a mirror or with your family and friends. Getting their opinion will help you realize what you need to practice more on and what you might want to not change in your essay. This is also a good technique to see if you messed up on any words or if your grammar is off. Try to practice your transition into each main topic. Memorizing the sequence of your slides can also help you relate different subjects with your topic, ultimately making you feel more comfortable reading about it with others (Martinuzzi). Practice makes perfect.

Relaxation is key. Your presentation isn’t a performance. Don’t try and make it perfect, it is okay if you mess up (Orman). When presenting, you need to pause frequently. In “The Kings Speech”, a movie based on the life of King George VI, the speech therapist uses the technique of pausing to help the king get over his stuttering habit (Fazackarley). People who suffer from anxiety will most likely hold their breath when starting their speeches. Always remember to breathe and take deep breaths. Don’t pay attention to the audience faces. Looking into the audience can only make you more nervous. Before you go to present, try to find a friendly face, this will help lower your anxiety and make it seem like a conversation between you and your buddy. If the audience is paying attention to what you are saying, they won’t be smiling at you. Most of the times if they are giving the presenter a blank stare; they are concentrating on what they are saying. Also, don’t feel panicked if they are talking to the person next to them, they could be talking about your topic (Martinuzzi). People can’t see your fear unless you let them.

The presenters’ way of thinking before and after your presentation can determine the outcome of how they do. Turn your negative affirmations into positive affirmations. Negative thoughts only strengths your anxiety. If you think you will mess up, you will mess up. If you go into a test thinking “I’m going to fail”, you will forget what you were taught and start second guessing yourself (Musa). “Negative form self-talk is like throwing gasoline in a room of fire” (Martinuzzi).  If you forget the information it’s okay. You are only presenting it, it is up to the audience to get more involved and read more about your topic. Your only goal is to get them interested enough in your topic to do it. If you mess up during it, just laugh about it, don’t put yourself down for a common mistake. After the presentation, don’t try and “filter think”. Filter thinking is only hearing the negative criticism someone is giving you, even if 90% of it was praise (Musa). It can also follow you into the workplace, your boss could have just praised you on your amazing presentation, but since he criticized you for not using the companies’ colors on the PowerPoint, that’s all you can think about. These ways of thinking will make it where you can never see the positive in any situation.

Speaking anxieties can cause problems in school but also in the work place. “All professions at some point of time will require you to speak publicly, in the form of making a presentation, addressing a meeting or conference, [and] airing your views generally in a discussion” (Vocalize Your Thoughts). Most of the times the fear of public speaking, is related to another issue you had at a young age, such as being taunted or made fun of. Using techniques, such as relaxation skills and preparing before the presentation will help you overcome your fear.

Work Cited Page

Fazackarley, Jane. "Speech pathologist discusses new film The King's Speech Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/301977

Martinuzzi, Bruna. "11 Easy Ways to Finally Overcome Your Public Speaking Fear." Clarion Enterprises. N.p., 03 Feburary 2013. Web. 1 Oct 2013.< http://www.clarionenterprises.com/blog/?p

Musa, F.. N.p.. Web. 1 Oct 2013. <http://www.wikihow.com/Think-Positively>.

"Public Speaking - Vocalize Your Thoughts." Mind Body N Soul. N.p.. Web. 1 Oct 2013.< http://www.mindbodynsoul.com/Positive-Thinking/public-speaking-vocalize-your-thoughts.html>.