Presentation Skills Training - How to Feel and Be More Confident About Yourself When Speaking in Public

As the Master of Ceremonies calls out your name,you slowly walk up to the stage amidst the applause of your audience to shake his hands.

And as you are walking up, you try very hard to keep the smile on your face while hiding your anxiousness.

Glancing back, you saw that in the eyes of the audience that they are full of anticipation, eager to hear what you have to share with them. Now, butterflies start to form in your stomach. You can feel the cold sweat trickling down your forehead and doubts begin to occupy your mind...

" What if I forget the important points of my speech? What will the audience think of me? Will they laugh at me if I say something wrong? What should I do if they laugh at me? "

After taking the last few painful steps, you finally manage to reach the emcee and shake his hands. Now the applause eventually died down and you are now on the stage... ALONE!!

As a speaker on stage, you are like a warrior fighting a battle with no allies around you. You're there alone... and you've no one to fall back to if anything goes wrong.

You know you can't afford to be anxious. After all, you've religiously followed the 4 steps to overcoming your fears of public speaking and you know you'll be able to impress your audience with your speech -  if you manage to deliver it properly and thoroughly, as what you've practiced weeks ago!

My friend, getting anxious and having butterflies in your stomach before your public speaking engagement is common. In fact, no matter how great a speaker is, he or she is bound to feel anxious and nervous. Even so, that doesn't mean you have to show and tell everyone that you're anxious.

After all, you won't get a single sympathy by letting people know that you are nervous so why bother? Those accomplished speakers know how to camouflage their nervousness. Come and put up a great smile and forget about the stage fright.

Below are 2 great ways I personally used (and coach my students to use) to overcome their fears of public speaking ...

Overcome Fears of Public Speaking Tip #1: Self-Visualisation

You probably have heard of the acronym of F.E.A.R,  Felse  Evidence  Appearing  Real.

Since you can't force yourself to stop imagining things, then why not use your imagination to your public speaking advantage by thinking of something positive?

Before your public speaking engagement, create a mental image of yourself giving the talk and getting a positive response from your audience. Imagine you're relax and confidence on the stage and your audience are listening attentively at what you've to share with them.

And as you conclude your speech, the audience are bewildered and give you a standing ovation.

Play this image over and over again in your mind. Now, how do you feel now? Do you feel as fearful as you were before?

This form of creative self-visualisation is also used by athletes who visualise themselves winning.

Overcome Fears of Public Speaking Tip #2: Move Around

Most public speaking coaches often advise their students to stand in one position when giving their talk and not move around. They believe that by standing in one position, they are less likely to display their anxiousness and nervousness to the audience.

You know what? I think otherwise!

Go ahead and walk around the stage! Don't just stand in one position.

Walk up and down, move from left to the right... Move in any directions you want. By moving around, it will better help you dissipate the nervous energy as compared to standing in one position fidgeting.