It’s Not About You!
How to Have Fun While Speaking

Focus on Your Audience and Make Speaking Fun

Speaking in public and delivering powerful presentations can be fun!! Yes, I know that may be hard to believe for those of you who are shy, lack confidence, or get nervous when making presentations in front of clients, coworkers, and potential investors.

I used to be incredibly shy when I was in high school. I nearly fainted one day when presenting an English paper in front of my classmates! However, I overcame my shyness by following advice from Dr. Wayne Dyer (in Your Erroneous Zones) by escaping the trap of negative thinking. In order to overcome my shyness, I decided to stop worrying so much about “What are people thinking about me?” and instead, started focusing on other people.

Focusing on Yourself Creates Anxiety

Thinking too much about what your audience thinks about you is the trap of negative thinking that leads to glossophobia (fear of public speaking). Many of us visualize the following image when delivering a speech: an empty stage where we take center stage and everyone’s eyes are on us. This would cause many people to feel nervous since the focus seems to be only on the speaker.

Overcoming Speech Anxiety

There are many ways to overcome nervousness when standing in front of an audience. These methods include knowing your topic well, being organized, practicing the presentation multiple times, visualizing success, using deep breathing techniques, focusing on your purpose, and getting support, according to the Mayo Clinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/specific-phobias/expert-answers/fear-of-public-speaking/faq-20058416)

• Knowing your topic well means having passion for the topic and doing research to be well-informed. This will make you feel and look more confident when presenting.
• Organizing the presentation with an outline containing clearly defined main points and sub-points makes the speech easy to present for you and for the audience to follow.
• The more that you practice, the more confident and knowledgeable you will be when making the presentation.
• Breathing inward deeply and exhaling slowing will calm nervousness. Also, pausing while speaking and taking a deep breath enables the audience to reflect on key points made during the speech.
• Having a definite (stated or unstated) purpose for the presentation reinforces why the content is important for the audience to know. Doing so validates that your information is valuable.
• Get support from friends, coworkers, or a communication coach to improve your content and delivery techniques. This can ease your nerves and increase confidence in the quality of your presentation.

These are all good ways to decrease anxiety around giving a presentation or pitch. However, the best way to overcome my fear of public speaking was the same method I used for overcoming my shyness. I focused more on other people and less on myself!

It’s Not About You! Focus on Your Audience

Speaking in public and delivering powerful presentations can be fun!! Here is some advice for those of you who are shy like I was in high school and college. Visualize success and speak to the audience as if they were your friends. Engage members of the audience by asking questions, making eye contact (when possible), moving around, sharing  some personal stories related to your topic, or even add humor if you are comfortable joking about yourself. The key is to focus more on what your audience wants and less on yourself while speaking.

Visual the audience being energized and inspired by your presentation. Think about how much they will learn after hearing your pitch and what great information you will have provided. That is the key to becoming an impactful and inspiring presenter.

Your audience is the reason you are speaking. Focusing on them will make speaking much more fun. I love responding to questions and feedback from audience members. That helps to decrease my anxiety by engaging with others rather than thinking about myself. If you would like more information about how to engage with your audience and make presentations more fun, please contact me.

Be sure to check back every two weeks for more information on giving powerful presentations!