Guide To PUBLIC SPEAKING.
Public speaking… Scary. Why?
Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s just f**king terrifying. It’s exposing yourself (in a non-naked-sexy-sense) in front of people, who wants to do that? Not me!
The truth is, you’re not the anomaly, here. People who aren’t afraid of public speaking, they’re the freaks.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
It’s the most common phobia in the UK with a reported 73% of us getting anxious when speaking or performing in front of crowds.
Now, I can only speak from my own experience but, like so many things, the fear of public speaking isn’t necessarily something you can simply remove quickly, it’s more something to overcome, to manage and to placate.
I’ve had a fear of public speaking since I can remember. I shake, my chest flutters, my throat dries and I sweat. Oh, how I SWEAT. But I’ve been performing at live events for over a decade. So how does that work out?
Well, I do not have some big secret that will take the fear away, but I do have a lot of advice I’ve picked up over the years that will help you to feel more confident when you perform in front of people, will help you deliver with more gusto, will make you more believable, more positive in your approach, more at ease, and, most importantly, more yourself. And after all, that should be your goal with public speaking: to be yourself, only yourself stood up in front of other people.
WE CAN ALL LEARN.
Not just anyone can fall into public speaking, but anyone can learn how to.
Trust me, I know it’s daunting and it probably feels like you’ll never be able to do it, but I assure you, you can.
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Photos by 祝 鹤槐, Henri Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, Dani Hart.