How to Overcome Public Speaking Anxiety in 7 Simple Steps

Public speaking can be incredibly challenging, especially if it isn’t a skill that comes naturally. The truth is, not many people can stand up in front of an audience and convey a message without feeling nervous — especially without prior training and guidance.

At CoComms, we run Media and Communications Training Courses — including Public Speaking Training — to help people like you become more confident in their storytelling and presenting abilities.

So, if you feel like you need to overcome public speaking anxiety, you’ve landed at the right place.

Why is public speaking so difficult?

Many people find public speaking scary, difficult, or stressful because it involves putting yourself in the spotlight. Public speaking, whether it be in a talk or a presentation, isn’t a typical day-to-day task unless you’re a professional public speaker, so it can often feel unnatural and uncomfortable, especially when you’re just starting out.

Whether you’re speaking in front of a small group of peers or a venue filled with hundreds, public speaking means you’re opening yourself up and making yourself vulnerable to the audience. With this comes the fear of judgement and inadequacy that so many experience when public speaking.

How to overcome public speaking anxiety

So, how do you overcome these fears and become a more confident public speaker?

Rationalise

Anxiety surrounding public speaking often stems from believing that the consequences of ‘messing up’ will be worse than they are. This is where being able to rationalise comes in handy — a transferable skill that will help you in public speaking and in other aspects of your life. While it’s healthy to feel some pressure and anxiety around public speaking, it should never consume you.

To help you rationalise the task of public speaking, think about what would realistically happen if you slipped up, forgot your lines, or skipped a cue. The answer? Nothing. If anything, your audience will probably empathise with your nervousness, remain polite, and listen.

In these scary ‘what if’ moments, all it takes is a pause, a deep breath, and maybe a sip of water to help recentre your mind back on topic.

Prepare

It’s almost impossible to ace a presentation or a speech without preparation, so why set yourself up for failure? Preparation is an exciting part of public speaking, where you can help yourself feel inspired about the topic or message you’re delivering.

Some of the most effective ways to prepare for a public speaking task include:

Researching the topic: From notifying your team of big changes to pitching ideas to an investor, envision yourself as an expert that your audience can rely on.
Anticipate questions: After delivering an engaging talk, it’s likely that your audience will have a few questions. Try and pre-empt these to avoid any awkward pauses and deliver a succinct and informative answer instead.
Visit the space: This might seem a little OTT, but it works wonders. Whether you’re going to be speaking in a space you know or travelling somewhere else, going to the space and acquainting yourself with your surroundings can help minimise nervousness. If you’re taking a laptop and need to project slides, find out where all the equipment is prior so you know in advance.

Become a storyteller

This is the best part about public speaking. When you’re speaking to an audience, you need to imagine yourself as an author crafting an engaging and informative story. This will help your audience connect with you on an emotional level, which will make your presentation, talk, or interview more memorable.

Depending on the type of public speaking you’re doing, you may not be able to use all of these tips, but try to use as many as possible!

Structure your talk like a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Use anecdotes to illustrate your message in a way that the audience can relate to.
Use inclusive language like ‘we’, ‘you’, and ‘our’, as well as rhetorical questions to involve your audience.
Don’t forget about kinesics — non-verbal communication. Experiment with your pace, tone, volume, pauses, and body movements to add a new dimension to what you’re trying to say.

Practice

Getting comfortable with the message or information you’re discussing will help you come across as confident and knowledgeable. There are countless ways to practice public speaking, so it’s best to find a method that works for you.

This may take a little bit of time and effort to figure out, but once you have a method you can rely on, you’ll be able to notice the results in the long run.

Some popular public speaking practice methods include:

Look, cover, speak, check: An old-school method that works for many. Write out what you want to say, look at it, turn away, speak it out, and check what you missed. It might help if you do this in ‘chunks’ rather than all at once!
Time yourself: Timing is an important part of public speaking. Ensure you don’t overrun your time limit or speed through what you want to say by timing yourself.
Present or practice with a friend: Ask someone you trust to act as a ‘dummy’ run of your presentation, talk, or interview. The more you get used to being watched and listened to, the more confident you will feel.
Record yourself: A little awkward at first, but very effective. This will help you spot any moments where you’re over-relying on filler words like ‘um’, ‘like’, etc. and where you can pause for effect.

Try relaxation techniques

When you’re feeling nervous or anxious about public speaking, this is your sympathetic nervous system going into a ‘fight or flight’ response. You may notice your heart beating faster, your breath becoming more rapid, or sweating more than usual. These responses can also hijack your working memory, which can make it harder for you to recall talking points or cues on the spot.

If you notice these signs, there are quick and effective relaxation techniques that you can try which will tell your brain that you’re safe and protected:

Deep breathing: Try ‘box-method’ breathing. Also known as 4-4-4-4 breathing, this technique involves breathing in for four counts, holding for four counts, four counts breathing out, and then holding for four counts again. Repeat it twice and imagine drawing a box in your mind.
Muscle relaxation: Tense and relax different muscle groups one by one to get rid of any physical tension.
EFT tapping: Combining cognitive therapy with acupressure, EFT tapping involves tapping on different pressure points on the body to lower stress, calm the nervous system, and shift away from fight or flight.

Shift your mindset

As you approach your public speaking assignment, it’s time to shift your focus away from any fears and transform them into positive affirmations. We spend so much time subconsciously beating ourselves down and telling ourselves that we’re going to fail, so a mindset shift is needed.

There are a few ways to try this:

Manifest and visualise what a successful public speaking assignment looks like to you. Is it people asking you questions? Is it a certain confident body pose or stance? Think about what it looks like, and try to replicate it on the big day.
Move away from what the audience thinks. Your audience will be there and listening because they’re interested in what you have to say — remember this and use it as a confidence boost.
Offer yourself positive affirmations instead of negative self-talk. As cheesy as it sounds, tell yourself out loud, ‘I am a good speaker’, ‘I know everything I need to know to deliver’, and ‘Everything will go well’.

Learn and grow

Always stay humble, because the learning doesn’t stop once your speech, interview, or talk is complete. An excellent public speaker is one who can reflect back on their communications with hindsight — all while taking constructive criticism and feedback in their stride.

See each public speaking opportunity as one where you can improve and grow as a public speaker and learn to embrace your mistakes instead of beating yourself up about them.

It is in these small differences that a true public speaker outshines the rest.

Try a CoComms public speaking training course

If you’d like to learn more about how you can overcome public speaking anxiety,

take a look at our Public Speaking Training Course.

In this course, you will learn about the tips we have covered today and more, including conference and panel training, presentation training, and even how to polish up your communication skills on business video calls.
Learn more about us, and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you require more information.