Ways to Boost your Confidence in Public Speaking
Public speaking isn’t hard, yet for a great many people becoming an effective public speaker is a lifelong struggle. Fortunately there’s plethora of ways anyone can get better at it and become a first-rate impresario.
Look in the mirror
It sounds corny, but the first person you should be talking to is yourself! Talk to yourself in the mirror, sing in the mirror if that’s what you want to do, and watch yourself. How to do you look? How do you seem to look? Are you clean-shaven or slovenly? Do you slouch or stand up straight? Work hard to develop a personal image. You don’t have to be supermodel thin or look like you belong on the cover of a magazine – you need to look like you should command the respect of whatever audience you are speaking to, be it a class of kindergarten students or a conference hall full of CEOs. In the process of creating the image you want to convey to your audience you’ve taken the first step towards becoming an effective public speaker.
Train like an Athlete
The next step is to make sure you’ve got the physical requirements of a public speaker, ie a strong, clear, supple voice. Do a quick Google search for “vocal exercises” for a list of quick things you can do to strengthen your voice, and then spend a few minutes every morning before you start your day warming up your voice (you should also do a quick vocal warm-up before an actual speaking engagement). Don’t think you’ll be able to rely on a microphone to make yourself heard – mics are only as good as the sound going into them, and daily vocal exercises will give you a voice that is clear, crisp and strong enough for the audio equipment to make you sound your best.
Build some confidence through practical experience
If you look like an effective public speaker and you sound like an effective public speaker then the next step is to act like an effective public speaker! Public speaking is for all intents and purposes a performance, so you need to spend some time performing in some relatively low-stress situations. So get up and sing a little karaoke at the bar, or do some magic tricks for your child’s birthday party. Go out and audition for your local community theatre or amateur operatic society. Do whatever you like but get yourself in front of people and strut your stuff. If you’ve got it they’ll quickly tell you, and if you haven’t got it you’ll quickly know, and if you need to change something this is the time and place to do it, not when you’re working on a high-paying engagement. Hone your craft by speaking for free, speaking often. Join your local “Toastmasters'” society or other public speaking forum. Act as a caller for you local Bingo hall.
There’s really no secret to being an effective public speaker. If you just look your best, sound your best and know how to carry yourself in front of people you will have nothing to worry about.
