Five ways to banish public speaking nerves

Conquer ‘Glossophobia’ : A fear of public speaking

As a professional speaker and MC for over 25 years, I’ve studied confident and anxious speakers, and created a handful of coaching techniques to help the anxious ones.

Let’s assume you’ve prepared well.. you’ve spent the right amount of time creating your presentation and your speech outline and you know exactly why you’ve been asked to speak to that audience on that day. (subscribe for upcoming tips on creating a speech outline and for extracting a brief from the event organiser)

1. It’s not about YOU.

Nervous Speakers are often caught up in a spiral, overthinking things before they get on stage, worrying about what they look and sound like and how they might be judged by the audience.

Think of it this way instead: YOU ARE SIMPLY A VEHICLE FOR THE MESSAGE. This audience on this day in this room NEEDS the message you have inside you. Your body is simply the vehicle to deliver it. You're SERVING the audience.

Imagine your speech being painted into the air above you into a speech bubble… THAT’S what the audience is concentrating on.

2. You’ve earned the right to be there.

It’s not an improv game where you’re being thrown a random topic once you hit the stage.

There is a reason the event planner, or your boss asked you to do this presentation. Because you’re the right person for the job. You are the authority in your area of expertise. You’ve EARNED THE RIGHT to be there.

3. Wiggle your toes.

When you recognise you’re spiraling (heart racing, body getting hot, palms getting clammy), WIGGLE YOUR TOES. This is an effective mindfulness technique to bring you back into your body, back to the present. Once you start wiggling your toes you’ll realise you’re back in control of your thoughts and ready for the next step…breathe.

4. Breathe (out).

What’s the first thing we do when we need to calm down? Take a deep breath, right? What I see all too often is nervous speakers taking too many deep breaths in, trying to calm themselves but forgetting to take a big huge deep breath OUT as well. Every breath in should be followed by an even longer breath out. If you can find a quiet spot away from the audience before your talk, lift up your shoulders as you breath in and drop them heavily as you breathe out. If you're comfortable with it, make an “ahhhhhh” sound too. It is the BREATH OUT which stimulates the vagus nerve and THAT’S the one which keeps you calm.

5. If in doubt: panels and interviews to the rescue

Let’s say you’re keen to try one or all of the tips above, but you want to take it slowly and dip a toe into the water before putting yourself onto a stage alone.

Ask if you can appear on a panel or in a facilitated interview (sometimes called a ‘fireside chat’ or a ‘q + a’ with the MC. You can provide the MC with 5-10 questions they can ask, to draw your expertise and insights out of you. In the few instances over the years where I haven’t had enough time to coach a nervous speaker before the deadline, falling back on this idea has worked perfectly. The speaker sits in a chair with one other person (or a few if it’s a panel) and answers questions they’ve pre-approved. WIN!

Is there a challenge you’re struggling with when it comes to speaking and presenting which I haven’t covered above?