Building Super Confidence in Public Speaking

Next to the fear death, the other biggest fear is public speaking ! Imagine that. In other words, people would rather die than stand in public a and speak voluntarily. The funny fact is that no one has ever been reported to die during a public speaking engagement. It is wonder that while speaking is such a natural thing to do for humans, public speaking on the other hand produces a 'life threatening' result in most people. However, for some people, it also seems to come naturally like they are born for the skill. In my work as a training consultant, I have also seen many confident looking individuals who say they have the proverbial elephants in the stomach when they speak in public. In this article I will share some of the tips on how to create the confidence to stand and speak in public.


  1. Preparation is the utmost key to developing confidence. Half of the battle is won when we prepare our material and rehearse what and how we are going to present our ideas. People who don't prepare know that they do not have all the facts and this further build the fear in a downward spiral of not having enough material to fill the amount of time given and not having enough to say which leads to fear of being embarrassed that ultimately destroys any confidence they used to have on the subject they are going to talk about.
  2. The next way to bust stage freight is to develop the right attitude for the speaking engagement. I always observe a major shift in the level of ease when I tell people to take the attitude of sharing and not preforming when talking in public. I think, this is because, mentally when we want to perform, we immediately build a mental picture of being perfect. Instead, when we take the attitude of sharing, we become more natural because the action of sharing does not come with the same mental picture of performing. In sharing we are naturally excited, use the right intonation and always come with the right energy based what we want to share.
  3. The right body language is also another factor that builds the confidence to speak in public. This is an area people always underestimate and neglect at the expense of appearing confident. Standing with the right posture and wearing the right attire has a huge impact in providing that boost of confidence when you need it. As an exercise, be in front of the mirror and stand like a person who just lost his job and notice the kind of mental energy you have. Then in the second instance, stand as if you have just won a Ferrari in a slogan making contest. You will definitely feel two different levels of energy and that is how easy it is to get confidence ! Change the way you are physically, you will change how you feel internally. Now you have a confidence switch that you can turn on any time you like. You will be amazed as another example at how a smile can change your energy level. Try it now ! There seems to be a built in circuit between the brain any physical action we perform. Positive actions produce positive mental energy and vice versa.
  4. The right mental picture will give you the right attitude. When I asked people what they imagine when they feel nervous, all of them will say, they have in their minds, the picture of making mistakes, being laughed at, going blank the list goes on. Actually, according to the Laws of Attraction, we become what we think of all day long. And thinking can be something we can have control over. So take charge of your own minds and start building a picture of success like imagining people asking you engaging questions, paying attention to your talk and finally giving you a standing ovation. 
  5. Days before the speaking event, talk to as many people as you can about the subject you are going to share (notice I use the word share not present). Talk to them the points your are going to put forth and listen to their feedback. To get insight about how people feel about your point, have them talk 80 percent of the time after you have shared with them. The more people you can talk to the higher your level of confidence. This will make you more confident with your subject and how you treat them. Most people who report being nervous on the other hand, talk about how nervous they are going to be before even facing the D-day and sometime this can be weeks before. Anxiety is nothing but feeling the pain before the event. As such, taking about how nervous you will be, only reinforces it, and, is totally counter productive and a total waste of time. 
  6. Role modelling is another way to build super confidence. The amount of materials available on the you tube nowadays is unbelievable. All you need to do is to choose your favourite speaker and watch them repeatedly and copy their styles. Just like how people can copy their favourite movie stars, stand up comedians or singers, you can also copy your favourite speaker's style. Copy their intonations, body language and even the stories they tell. You can even quote them to give more richness to your sharing sessions.
  7. There are also people who become nervous  because they think they cannot sound interesting. Add stories, anecdotes, examples and metaphors to your presentations. If you do not have any, just google related stories to your points and you will be amazed at how much material is available on the internet. With this technology, my problem is to choose the best stories because there are so many excellent  ones available. As an example, once I was looking for samples of funny conversations between pilots and the control tower to use for a communication skills seminar, and found an overwhelming number of them and spent more than half an hour reading and laughing at the same time (some of the are really funny). You would not believe what people have put on the internet at you disposal and its free ! Not only that, they build your confidence !
Happy trying and have a fun sharing session !

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