Do you know that the
average adult rates the fear of public speaking above the fear of death? Crazy
right? Most of us would bolt at the opportunity to express our ideas in
organised social gatherings. People keep asking how to make those presentations
and stage performances effortless, here are 6 tips to overcome your fear of
audiences a.k.a stage freight:
1) UNDERSTAND, AUDIENCE
DOES NOT EQUAL ADVERSARY. We usually believe when we get up to speak,our
listeners secretly want us to fail. But who goes to the cinema hoping that the
movie will turn out bad? No one! In fact, your audience wants you to 'wow'
them. I sure do not want someone wasting my time with a bad performance. Do
you?
2) EARN THE RIGHT TO
SPEAK. Its insane to speak about what you have no idea about. Imagine a
politician who knows little of medicine trying to describe heart surgery.Talk
about what you've thoroughly studied or personally experienced.
3) PRACTISE "PASSION
SPEAKING". Speak about things you love and are passionate about. You are a
talented professional makeup artist thriving in the makeup industry, you have
no interest in farming, why on earth are you trying to present on how lucrative
the agricultural industry is?
4) PREPARE LIKE HELL. Rehearse
your talk exhaustively before friends and when no one is looking.Suck the
juices of your presentation, LET YOUR TALK OWN YOU. Except for spokenword
poets,singers or rappers,never memorize your talk word for word. You are not
reciting scriptures, you are talking to people. Memorize the sequence of the
ideas, not the talk itself.
5) SPEAK OUT.This is the
most important. You have to plunge out, speak before groups on every
opportunity you get. Join speaking groups. SPEAK SPEAK SPEAK! More speech,less
fear. Go on this point alone and you will be a great speaker."We learn to
speak by speaking" -Dale carnegie
6) BEHAVE CONFIDENT. Ever
tried to act bold while passing before a terrifying dog? (i know i have). Same
applies to speaking. When you stand before an audience, act like you've done
this a thousand times,after a few moments you lose fear, but dont get cocky.
-David Oyibo
Facebook: David Oyibo,
Instagram:@davidoyibo7, Gmail: davidoyibo7@gmail.com, Twitter: @envoydavid
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