Kevin Sinclair asked:
A majority of people tend to believe that parts of life are naturally stressful. If truth be told, most of us have in actual fact been educated to believe that life on the whole is stressful. In order to enable us to deal with stress in an effective manner, it is first necessary to understand that life itself is NOT naturally stressful. It has been learned, by thousands of people, to speak in front of groups with very little or no stress at all. In the first instance many of these people were terrified of doing this.
Many people experience panic, with shaking knees, trembling voices, and their thoughts becoming a mass of jumble just at the thought of speaking in public. However, this fear has been eliminated by many people. It is important to remember that you are no more or no less than any of them. If others can do it with confidence, then why can’t you? All that you need is the correct guiding principles, along with the correct understanding and the correct plan of action, to be able to speak in public comfortably and with confidence.
Many of us have seen public speakers and thought “There’s no way I could do that. I am just not that smart, witty, entertaining, calm, polished – or whatever.” Well, let me tell you that you do not need to be fantastic or perfect in order to succeed. Public speaking is not about being brilliant. Mistakes can be made. Your tongue can become tied, or you could even forget entire parts of your speech and still give a successful speech.
Everything depends upon your, and your audiences, definition of success. Having the understanding that your audience does NOT expect perfection is one of the biggest secrets to successful public speaking. Giving your audience something of value is the essence of public speaking. There really is nothing more to it. If your audience walks away feeling better about themselves, then they will consider that their time with you was worthwhile.
When speakers convey, people remember very little about the facts or information that the speaker has outlined. Therefore, it is imperative not to overload your audience with unnecessary facts and details. Simple information will suffice in giving them what they want so that they can walk away with one or two key points that are significant to them.
This may sound absurd, but you will succeed as a public speaker if you simply address your audience with a little knowledge and remember to be yourself. It really is as simple as that. Of course, a little practice is required. However, the best way to succeed is to enter the arena time and time again and you will quickly have all of the confidence that you need.