How to Overcome Public Speaking Jitters

Most people report that a fear of public speaking is more frightening than even dying.  So then what is a person to do to start beating a public speaking fear if they get jittery when asked to deliver an important speech?

In our modern culture, being able to speak effectively and give powerful presentations is absolutely critical to advancing our careers.  Most careers and universities will require employees and students to give some type of presentation sooner or later.

Your point won’t come across as clearly if you are too nervous giving your speech, or it could become so intimidating that you flat-out avoid situations that require you to give speeches.  This might even build up over time resulting in shyness and other social anxieties. And that can keep you from moving ahead in your career or from getting the grades you deserve in school.

The first thing you want to do is change your view of the situation.  People with anxiety about giving speeches and presentations often have goals like, “I must overcome my fear of giving speeches.”  This is a problematic way of thinking because it implicitly says that you need to become a different person than you already are.

What you might try doing is instead, turn your attention to a more positive way of thinking.  You might try changing “I must overcome my fear of giving speeches” into something more like “I want to deliver my presentation effectively and confidently.”  Once you decide on what you really want, take some time to write it down on a sheet of paper.  Take some time to read the statement out loud to yourself in the days leading up to your presentation and visualize how you will feel and act when you know that you have achieved your goal.

When you turn your attention to “overcoming a fear of public speaking,” you tend to create a self-fulfilling prophecy.  What you focus on, you tend to get in live whether it’s “public speaking fear” or “being a relaxed and confident speaker.”

Remind yourself that it really all is in your mind.  The more mental energy you focus on “fear” the bigger the problem will become in your mind.  When you instead focus on what you do want you will be fueling “confident speaking” instead of “fear of speaking”.

Also you might consider other means such as EFT Therapy or joining Toastmasters, a group of individuals that meet to cultivate the skills they need to deliver very effective speeches and presentations.

I hope that the information you’ve read here will help you feel more at ease during your next speech.  Remember to stay focused on your goal and not on what you want to avoid.  Good luck on your next speech!