What to do if you are afraid to speak in front of an audience. How to overcome stage fright: the science of public speaking. Never apologize for your excitement

This question, in its scale, is comparable to such eternal questions of mankind as, for example, “How to become happy?” or "What is the meaning of life?" It is impossible to answer such questions in a few words, this is a whole path, science and art, and hundreds of books, trainings and dissertations are devoted to answering this question. In a few words, it is only possible to designate this path, to show the direction of movement. Strictly speaking, in this topic there are also quick “tricks” that relieve an acute attack of excitement and stress, which is also good, but they are momentary and transient, like medicines that relieve symptoms, but do not cure the disease.

Therefore, in short, but conceptually, the achievement of confidence in public consists of three main “pillars”. Whales are the basic components that underlie this art, without which the spiritual world of a person will stagger, like a building on a bad foundation during an earthquake. Each whale bears its part of the load, as the Atlanteans hold the Hermitage building, and ideally, all three components should be strong and well developed. If any of the components weakens, an increased load falls on other supports and the building of confidence already begins to stagger.

1st component - high and independent self-esteem. Self-esteem is the main quality of a person, in other words, it is the degree of self-acceptance, self-respect, the degree of unconditional self-love, the inner dignity of a person. Self-esteem develops in childhood and adolescence, and its level depends on how the world and the environment treated the growing personality. If the world, society, peers, environment, parents did not feed the emerging self-esteem with unconditional love, demanded more than gave, criticized more than praised, punished more than rewarded, then the degree of self-respect for him is formed low. Such self-esteem is like a stunted flower that has not been watered enough. If the environment did not yet allow this and did not allow a step to be taken independently, crushing attempts to freely express oneself, forcing one to adapt to the correct opinion, then dependence on the assessment of other people is ensured in adult life.

Unfortunately, many elements of our upbringing are aimed at aligning the individual to generally accepted standards, to the only correct morality and attitudes and beliefs accepted in society, therefore a truly high and independent self-esteem is very rare among people.

However, it is still possible to educate yourself and influence self-esteem in adulthood, so learning to truly love yourself, cultivating your inner dignity and independence from the assessment and judgments of other people is one of the important tasks for achieving full self-confidence.

The second component is the management of the psychological state. No matter how high self-esteem is, even strong personalities have moments of weakness, inner trembling and vile excitement in responsible situations. It is no longer possible to hold out here on one old foundation. Situations of psychological pressure, tough negotiations, increased public attention - all these are situations of testing that require additional internal work. There are a number of techniques and methods here, but all of them are aimed at the main thing - the mood for a “state of strength”, absolute confidence, inner comfort, in trainings we call this “the state of the Master”.

We experience the state of the Owner when something belongs to us - these are our things, space, business, and the good people around, and the street, and the city and the whole planet belong to the real Owner in life. This state contains both love for oneself and people, and inner comfort, and confidence, and independence from the opinions of the environment, and a sense of inner strength. In a situation of attention, this state often goes away, because the situation of evaluation is an uncomfortable situation and the person falls into a state of non-host. Therefore, it is important to remember, return, cultivate the state of the Master, tune in to it again when it leaves.

A necessary condition for achieving the state of the Master is the ability to manage one's own concentration of attention, the ability to turn on volitional qualities, to do certain mental work. One of the reasons for the excitement in public is the subconscious desire to like it, to get a good mark from the public, to delight other people with its greatness. It is known that where attention is, there is energy. And when the energy of attention is directed to self-assessment, whether I like it or not, to the harmful question “how do I look” - a person begins to look even worse. Because an acute desire to look better fetters a person and makes him unnatural. Therefore, it is important to displace this internal harmful question, to redirect the energy of attention to business, i.e., to focus not on the harmful question “how do I look” and “what will they think”, but on the assessment of the partners themselves or the public, what and how they say, on own speech, energy, content. The real Owner does not think about himself at this moment, he already knows that he is “OK”, that he should return to this, he puts his attention to the business he is busy with. And an interesting paradox happens - the less you want to please the public, the more you like it, because you behave naturally and confidently.

Once the great Pele was asked by journalists about the excitement:

How can you not be afraid to play football with such a crowd?

He answered like this:

If I think about the audience, I will forget where to roll the ball.

Those who are engaged in business forget to be afraid. This is the main law of a confident inner state and behavior in public. If there is no active work or speech influence yet, the Master studies, explores the world. If there are people in front of me - well, we will study people, this is also a necessary thing. Study and research is also an action, only a mental action.

3rd component - liberation of the body. What's the point? The following principle works here - psychological stress leads to muscle clamps in the body, since our psyche, mental state and body always work in a complex and one is inseparable from the other. This mechanism is often evident in public as well, when a person holds himself unnaturally, strums, or when the speaker is constrained, tense, clutches the back of a chair, taps his feet on the floor, or frantically gesticulates with his hands. Constraint is a typical psychological and bodily clamp, even the word itself comes from the word "cramped".

Moreover, we have residual clamps and tensions in ordinary life, even if no one is looking at us and even if we ourselves do not feel them. Therefore, the principle “relaxed body - relaxed mind” is used here. If you truly relax and first release the muscle clamps in the body, then this will also affect the relaxation of mental and psychological tension, including in people. Therefore, it is very important in the process of communicating with the public to control your muscle tensions and blocks, to be able to relax and release them.

The topic of body freedom is devoted to practices and trainings for removing muscle clamps, deep bodily blocks, forming, on the one hand, a relaxed body, but, on the other hand, completely assembled - for a quick response in case of vital necessity, like in athletes or animals. Also, all body-oriented practices, meditative-relaxing techniques and auto-trainings, free breathing, “dirty” and not so dancing, as well as a number of acting practices related to stage movement are also devoted to releasing the body from tension.

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The ability to speak in public is the most valuable skill of a modern business person. Representatives of many professions, due to their duties, are faced with the need to speak to an audience quite often: a top manager needs to motivate subordinates, a sales representative needs to convince a client to buy the product of his company. - the basis of social relations, without oratorical skills it is very difficult to achieve a positive result for yourself in working with other people. Given the importance, the responsibility for the outcome also increases. This rightly explains the fear of public speaking, but as many teachers of public speaking believe, it can be overcome. In this article, you will find useful tips on how to overcome and overcome the fear of public speaking, even in front of the most demanding audience.

Fear

The WikiHow project claims that the fear of public speaking is at the top of the list of phobias in North America. In psychology, there are even special terms that denote the fear of public speaking and stage fright - peyraphobia or glossophobia.

To fight fear, you need to understand its cause. Journalists would write: “You need to know the enemy by sight,” and they would be absolutely right. The genetic predisposition to fear of public speaking (temperament, accentuation and neuroticism) actually plays a small role. A number of factors of social origin have a much greater influence on the fear of speaking in front of an audience: upbringing, negative experience, and others. From childhood, many are taught not to shout, but to speak quietly so as not to attract too much attention. This attitude persists and leads to discomfort when speaking in front of a large audience. Negativity also provokes the attitude towards performance at school. Think about how often Hollywood films about learning are full of scenes where, already in elementary school, children defend home projects, speaking in front of the class. Whether this solves the problem or not, we will leave it to the teachers to figure it out, but this practice has only recently begun to be used in our country and in a rather limited form.

Scientists have noticed that as a result of speaking in public, some people release the same amount of adrenaline as those who jump with a parachute. Such a surge of emotions is difficult to curb, especially when not in flight, but in front of other people who, moreover, seek to appreciate you. But here the well-known principle works - the first time is much more difficult than the subsequent ones. Based on this, it can be argued that constant practice reduces fear.

Methods for overcoming the fear of public speaking

Determine the source of the fear. We are not afraid of the performance, but of how the audience will react to it. Uncertainty frightens: what will happen after entering the stage? Here, a very important factor is the understanding that almost always the vast majority of people hope to benefit from your presentation, respectively, they are sincerely interested and want you to succeed.

Don't deny your fear. If you are perfectly prepared for the presentation, you own the topic - you have nothing to be afraid of. Fear is just a defense mechanism against a situation in which you may find yourself during a speech, but most likely never find yourself. Think of it as an extra challenge and motivation. How to deal with fear, anxiety and stress is described in detail in our course.

People don't see your nervousness. Only a few can determine how worried another person is by appearance. It is a mistake to assume that the audience sees how worried you are. This means that there is at least one less reason for fear.

Improve at . There are many books and practical trainings that will help you learn how to prepare for a speech, attract an audience, maintain contact and, as a result, make a speech more comfortable.

The most important thing is preparation. Confidence arises when everything is under control. Make sure you know the material, try to anticipate the questions. Make a detailed speech plan and break it down into main points for memorization. Make the speech not boring, include a couple of jokes, quotes, stories.

Make yourself smile as soon as they took the stage. Psychologists believe that smiling relieves stress. Moreover, on a subconscious level, this will position a part of the audience in relation to you.

Relaxation. There are many techniques for relaxation, self-hypnosis, built on meditation or breathing exercises. The following exercise can be used as an example. Focus all your attention on inhaling and exhaling. Breathe deeply, holding your breath for a few seconds. As you exhale, count mentally from 1 to 5. Focus for at least 5 minutes, this will relieve tension.

1. No fake. Insincerity is easy to spot.

2. Do not take anything personally during the speech (questions, comments, etc.)

3. Remember: every time you go on stage, you learn something new.

4. Try to avoid any physical barriers between you and the audience (pulpits, tables, podiums) unless it is provided for by the organization.

5. If you do not know the correct answer to the question asked, do not answer incorrectly. Use a formula like: "We'll come back to this question later."

6. You can also redirect this question to the audience. This will allow both to understand the answer and to strengthen interaction with the listeners.

7. It's good if there are your friends or acquaintances in the hall. Make eye contact with them. This will make it possible to feel in a circle of close people and cope with excitement.

Each person at least once had to speak in public - some have a professional duty associated with this, for example, teachers, politicians, artists, managers, lawyers. Now there is even a separate specialty - the speaker.

According to psychologists, stage fright is so developed that it is felt by about 95% of the total population. Fear of public speaking is one of the most common fears that causes a lot of inconvenience and also worsens a person's condition. Consider how to overcome the fear of speaking, and what treatment modern medicine offers.

Description of the phobia

The fear of public speaking is called the medical term glossophobia, and in some cases it really should be treated. This fear of public speaking was familiar to many prominent people. Faina Ranevskaya, musician Glenn Gould, singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau were afraid of the stage among celebrities.

For many, the fear of speaking in front of an audience becomes a serious stress blow, in which the absence of any treatment and proper therapy leads to the development of a full-fledged mental disorder and social phobia.

Under the influence of fear, a person develops the so-called protective behavior. Such behavior helps to get rid of stress only at first, and if the problem is not solved in the future, a person cannot cope with fear and protective behavior becomes his normal daily pattern.

Such behavior begins to interfere with personal and career growth, forms mental problems and a distorted perception of reality.

That is why the fear of speaking should be recognized at the initial stages, you should not be afraid to resort to the help of a specialist who will determine in each individual case how not to be afraid to speak.

Typical and atypical fear

Consider how a phobia manifests itself, since it is impossible to overcome the fear of public speaking without an accurate identification of the pathology. In addition to glossophobia, there is another name - peyraphobia. It is worth distinguishing from it the ordinary excitement that a person experiences before speaking to an audience, and a pathological fear of public speaking.

The reaction is quite adequate when a person is worried before an oral entrance exam, a performance with a musical number. In the circle of acquaintances, such people easily cope with fear and calmly demonstrate their talents.

Psychologists say that a little anxiety in front of the public has its advantages. Before the upcoming performance, a person concentrates attention, becomes more collected and energetic, as a result, the course of any public performances is kept under control and goes well.

A person who suffers from stage fright experiences true fear both before and after the performance, in addition, he is afraid even after the end of the performance, he cannot cope with fear, even if he performed well.

Such a fear remains both in front of an unfamiliar and in front of a familiar audience; it cannot be overcome, regardless of the number of listeners and the degree of acquaintance with them.

Symptoms

A phobia can have a variety of causes, but almost always causes the same symptoms. Before the performance, only after seeing future listeners, a person instantly feels a strong emotional tension.

The cerebral cortex, the endocrine glands, the sympathetic system are activated, as a result of which the work of the internal organs changes in this way - the muscles tense up, facial expressions and gestures change, speech changes are also observed that are difficult to cope with - a change in the timbre of the voice, speed of speech.
The autonomic system responds with increased sweating, frequent heartbeat, jumps in blood pressure, headache and squeezing sensations in the chest.
When people are terribly afraid of a performance, there is a dry mouth, trembling and confusion of the voice, a complete loss of the ability to speak articulately, in addition, even involuntary urination.
Sometimes, with high nervous excitability, a person can even faint, and before that, feel nausea, weakness, dizziness, his skin becomes pale, covered with perspiration.

The strength of the symptoms and the complex of symptoms is individual, depending on the characteristics of the person and his character, state of the body and mood.

Reasons for the development of a phobia

The main reasons for the development of this phobia are both genetic predisposition and social factors.

There is a genetic tendency to certain varieties of fear, for example, to social phobia, or congenital increased anxiety. A person is constantly trying to meet certain standards, afraid of being misunderstood and rejected, unfairly assessed, isolated from society. Among the characteristics that are inherited, note the temperament, the level of anxiety and emotional perception. Parents and children can be very similar in this, having the same fears.

The most serious, underlying causes of phobias are social conditions. The development of phobias is facilitated by excessively strict upbringing, intimidation and threats in childhood by parents, excessive susceptibility to the opinions of others.
A negative assessment of one's abilities and capabilities, a negative experience in childhood, which was subjected to vivid criticism, a distortion of a stressful situation and its exaggeration, can also contribute to the development of a phobia.
Pathology can develop due to low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence in front of listeners, poor presentation preparation and lack of knowledge. For many, a phobia develops precisely for the reason that there was very little experience in performing.
On the other hand, glossophobia often occurs against the backdrop of a constant striving for perfection, and often accompanies perfectionists and people who value social evaluation.

Coping Methods

How to get rid of stage fright, and what treatment is indicated for such a pathology? Specialized help is needed only when the fear becomes panicky and neurotic, passing all the lines. In other cases, overcoming the fear of public speaking is possible with the help of auto-training.

The main ways to overcome stage fright are, first of all, in the awareness of this problem, and then in the analysis of the reasons that led to the development of pathology. Then solutions are developed and tested in practice.

Removing the uncertainty factor

To overcome the fear of public speaking, you should get rid of the uncertainty factor of the audience sitting in front of you. Analyze the purpose of their meeting, what they expect from what they heard, and what kind of reaction you would like to get from the audience. Analysis of the situation allows you to avoid the unknown and stop being afraid of the unknown reaction of people.

disillusionment

Nervous excitement increases when a person concentrates on the negative features of the public. Among such traits, skeptical smiles, disapproving gestures, inattention, and whispering during a speech are usually noted.

You can change your own state by mentally endowing people with positive qualities, paying attention not to negative, but to positive features - approving gestures, interested and attentive looks.

Another good way to eliminate the illusion that everyone in the room is against you is to focus on the positive result of the work done.

Speech planning

One of the most important tips on how to overcome stage fright and how to deal with nervousness is to carefully prepare for the performance. Confidence in your own preparation and the sufficiency of information allows you to relax a little and tune in to a quality performance.

For example, when preparing a report, one should first of all analyze and study the source data obtained from various authoritative sources. Then create a unique text and write down the main theses of your report, make a presentation plan- what to say and when. Choose strong arguments in your favor and do not lose sight of them throughout the report, anticipate possible questions and prepare answers to them.

Ways to overcome fear lie in a thorough rehearsal - to stop stuttering and stammering during a speech, rehearse the report in front of a mirror, or read it to your loved ones. Since it is impossible to stop being afraid without a certain experience, a rehearsal in front of your closest ones will be a good workout.

Recognition of imperfection

Before you fight your fears, accept the fact that the importance of other people can be greatly exaggerated. Do not give too much importance to criticism, skepticism and sarcasm, realize that everyone has the right to make a mistake. Also remember that even well-wishers can wishful thinking, because not a single opinion around can be the ultimate truth.

Learn techniques that increase self-esteem and self-esteem, feel your own value and the uniqueness of your personality. You will also have to accept the fact that other individuals are just as unique and have the right to make mistakes in exactly the same way as you.

Get ready for a positive outcome

You can effectively overcome fear if you focus on the process of achieving the goal, and not on the result. Fix your actions in the present, as if looking at yourself from the side without exaggeration and understatement. Imagine the positive aspects of your being on stage - this will allow you to defeat fear and get rid of it faster each time in the future.

Treatment of pathology may include physical activity, the study of proper breathing techniques, training the work of the left hemisphere of the brain, for example, working with mathematical calculations or other exact science. One of the pleasant ways to fight is to hum a favorite tune, meditate, practice body posture to achieve more open and restrained positions.

Any public speaking begins with diligent preparation, no matter what level of "oratory" you have. First, choose a topic for your speech. Second, consider who you will be speaking to. Who is your audience?

If these questions cause you difficulty, read our recommendations in the article. They will help you not only prepare for your public announcement, but also avoid mistakes that will turn your presentation into a boring lecture.

Understand the topic of the presentation

To become a successful speaker (even for a single occasion), you need to have a broad outlook and a good understanding of your professional field. Study the topic inside and out: become an expert in this matter.

What needs to be done for this?

acquire new knowledge(study special literature, cinema, communicate with professionals in this field),
constantly read the media, study thematic groups, pages of professionals in your field. So your speech will always be relevant. Be confident in what you say. The public should not have the slightest doubt: you are an expert. And you want to trust an expert.
mark facts and opinions for yourself, write down useful theses on a smartphone or in a notebook. This will make your speech more interesting and less dry. And you always want to listen to an interesting speaker.

Talk a lot everywhere and all the time

Seize opportunities to speak: speak at work, at the grocery store, at school meetings. Participate in discussions, give and take advice: this way you will be able to overcome the fear of the public, and the habit of “silent silence” will disappear over time. In addition, you will get people's opinion on any issue and be able to use it in the future.

Learn to listen to others

It is impossible to be a good fighter without knowing how to defend yourself - and in oratory. Without knowing how others say, it is unlikely that you will be able to broadcast to the whole world yourself and attract due attention at the same time. Listen to the radio, watch videos on the Internet. Study any source where people speak really well. Get in the habit of listening to the “pros”: get inspired and note things that are useful to you. Draw ideas, pay attention to the little things and shortcomings, consider how you would say this or that phrase.

Create a personal brand

You should develop a healthy habit of following the activities of the “experts”. But copying the manner of another person is bad form, it will not add individuality to you. The listener must see you as a person. Find your strengths and use them to the maximum.

Be natural

On the Internet, there are many rhetorical rules on how to speak, gesticulate, and behave in public. But dry behavior will never attract the viewer, even if you act according to rhetorical "canons".

The main thing is to develop your own internal principle: the audience should get the maximum benefit from your speech, have a good time. Respect your audience and they will do the same for you.

If your voice trembles, your eyes twitch, if you want to scratch your nose, it's okay, because our body is trying to calm and support us. Oratory teacher Marina Koval advises to be calmer about your inner support.

Don't try to restrict your movements. The lighter you feel, the freer your gestures and behavior, and the less attention the audience pays to it. The audience is only interested in your speech.
Marina Koval, professional speaker

After you figured out the topic of your speech, learned to listen and accustomed yourself to constantly speak, you need to go directly to writing the text for the speech.

Focus on the audience

Marina Koval, an expert in the field of public speaking, considers the most common mistake of a beginner to be the problem of excessive concentration and tension. A beginner speaker strives to make his speech so good and bright that he attaches too much importance to every word. This threatens to completely immerse yourself in your speech or presentation, that is, it interferes with interaction with the audience.

Another common mistake is the lack of eye contact between the speaker and the audience. If you don't look at your viewers, don't be surprised if they stop listening to you. And if you don’t pay enough attention to people who sit further than the front rows, you will definitely get unexpected and tricky questions.

There are two types of eye contact with the audience:

Take a look at everyone in the room, but not too quickly: look slowly from person to person - this is how you will inspire confidence in every listener;
Mentally divide the audience and "contact" visually with each part. Don't look away too fast, so people don't think you're scared or unsure of yourself.

How to prepare a text for an urgent speech: 7 effective tips

Remember your true goal: why you need to learn to speak masterfully. Focus on the main goal and do not forget it even when it is hard and difficult for you.
Create a plan, a "skeleton" of the future speech text. A lot depends on the introduction: it is necessary to immediately intrigue the listeners. In the main part, include the question posed, arguments, various opinions on the topic. End with a conclusion - try to leave the audience with some thoughts and questions for further reflection.
So that the text of the speech is not too serious, add emotions, interesting questions, jokes. Improvisation is not allowed if you want to perform really well, so all the nuances must be included in the plan for a future performance.
A good way to interest - examples from your personal life. So add them to your speech! Before you, no one told the listeners this, moreover, such information is remembered many times better than strict facts.
Play with intonation and general emotional message - rehearse the text by reading it in different ways. Try to place logical stresses and intriguing pauses for the accents you need.
Do not forget to include interactive in your speech, that is, interaction with the audience: questions, jokes, intriguing pauses. Novice speakers may address listeners at the wrong time, or not use interactive at all. Make your "entertainments" harmonious.
Learn the text by heart. If you are still worried - try your speech on acquaintances: let them criticize you. Such a rehearsal will add self-confidence, and you will be able to see the first reaction to your performance.

How to achieve a successful speech - 5 important rules for a speaker

Set yourself up for good luck. No need to worry again and scroll through everything in your head. Believe in your success.
If excitement cannot be avoided, it is better to immediately confess to the public You will instantly feel relieved and begin to speak more calmly.
Avoid monotony: you should be interesting to listen to. Highlight words with your voice, make intriguing pauses, joke. So you absolutely attract attention and establish contact with the public.
No need to show your acting skills. Excessive gesticulation will seem not only funny, but will also annoy the viewer. Also, do not walk from corner to corner so that people do not get tired of looking at you. Don't overplay.
Do not deviate from the plan: your performance is already pre-written. You do not need to tensely “go” from point to point, placing “ticks” in your head, but you still need to confidently and calmly follow the plan. Such rigor is needed so that you do not forget to fulfill all your plans and do not go astray when performing.

Work with professionals

think about

And most importantly. Even the best advice is dead without practice and repetition. Speak up. Talk everywhere. Use every opportunity to practice and over time you will learn how to perform in front of any audience.

There are two types of people in the world: those who like to speak in front of a crowd, and those who turn to stone with fear at the sight of a microphone. How to become the first type and how not to be afraid of public speaking, read on.

How not to be afraid of public speaking

Fear of failure and stage fright are completely natural and happen to many people. It is important for us to understand what is really behind the fear of performance so that we can effectively counteract it.

Stage fright or fear of possible failure is a state of ongoing anxiety that grips a person who has to perform in front of a large audience.

Heed the following tips:

Know your subject

Nothing quells the fear of speaking better than preparedness. Know the topic and text of your speech. And most importantly, know your audience. If you know what and to whom you are talking - you have no reason to panic.

Knowing the subject will allow you to be more natural and persuasive in your presentation. And if some technical failure suddenly happens, then it will not embarrass you at all: after all, you are 100% sure of your knowledge!

Know your report like the back of your hand and rehearse as much as possible (preferably in front of people) - and you will have faith in yourself.

Calm down yourself

Despite the fact that stage fright is “just in the head,” fear has specific physiological manifestations. Your listeners will notice it. The best way to fight is to replace negative expectations with positive ones. Instead of worrying about what will happen if you forget your words, think about what will happen if you perform well in front of an audience. Although it sounds trite and simple, positive affirmations really help relieve stress before public speaking.

Imagine the worst possible scenario

If positive thoughts don't help you, think of the worst possible scenario. Once you imagine it, you will realize that this scenario is not so terrible. This will help you relax.

Mentally imagine the results

Call it whatever you like: reflection, imagination, meditation. It doesn't matter what name you give it - just do it. Imagine your ideal performance in front of an audience where you shine with enthusiasm, humor, confidence and professionalism. The more you think about success, the more likely you are to achieve it.

The world doesn't revolve around you

You may feel like everyone is just waiting to ridicule, criticize, or judge you. But it's not. Get rid of the feeling that the whole world will blame you for all the mistakes.

Focus on your presentation, on the audience, on what you are ready to give them. By doing so, you will reduce the tension that is already accumulating inside you.

When something didn't go according to plan

Sooner or later something will go wrong. The microphone or projector may stop working. If you own the topic and content of your report, then this will not unsettle you much. The microphone is not working? It doesn't matter, raise your voice and continue speaking. Technical staff is probably already working on a solution to the problem. And yes, let them worry, not you.

Calm down and don't get ahead of yourself

Do not rush to finish your report as quickly as possible. Begin the presentation calmly, without rushing. This will allow you to choose the optimal pace of speech, get used to the audience and allow the audience to get used to you.

Focus on the first five minutes

Imagine that your entire presentation is only five minutes long. This makes the performance less stressful. Focus on "living through" the first five minutes of your presentation - that's enough time to calm you down and get you into the process.

Never apologize for your excitement

For most of your presentation, you will appear calm and show no sign of your excitement. So why tell the audience about it at all? Let it seem to you that your knees are trembling - no one in the hall will notice this, believe me. So just don't mention it, otherwise your listeners will get nervous themselves, stop listening to what you say to them, and begin to judge the way you speak.

Don't talk about your mistakes

You have prepared and rehearsed your speech, you feel great. But, being already on stage, you suddenly realize that you are confused or forgot to say something important. At such moments, you need to remember that you are the only one who knows about this error. Your listeners don't suspect a thing. So let them remain in happy ignorance, do not inform them about it. If you admit your mistakes, some listeners will purposefully look for other shortcomings. You will divert the attention of the audience from the main purpose of your speech.

Come early

Being late will only increase your anxiety. Come to the place of your performance in advance, get used to it. You can even go up on stage or walk around the hall to feel more relaxed.

Warm up

When you are nervous, the muscles in your body become stiff. Fifteen minutes before your performance, do a little warm-up. This will relieve muscle tension and relax your body.

Breathe

Excitement is always accompanied by rapid breathing, which leads to a lack of oxygen and loss of self-control. A minute before you get up on stage, take a few deep breaths to calm down.

double check everything

Do you need to use a laptop or any notes in your report? Check if everything works. When you are at the microphone, it will be too late to run for forgotten papers and records. And it will greatly reduce your confidence. Know the text of your speech so well that you can continue to speak without hesitation even in case of force majeure.

Don't try to overcome your fear of speaking. Work with him! You must prepare and accept the fact that in the first few minutes of the performance you will be extremely excited. The more you try to suppress your excitement, the stronger it will become. So focus on your report and the excitement will slowly recede.