Overcoming Fears and Nervousness
Excessive nervousness is the biggest problem for most new speakers. Fortunately it can be overcome with a three pronged approach, by knowing your material well, by understanding why your body reacts the way it does and by gaining experience.
Prepare, Prepare
The fear of forgetting is the biggest fear for most people and this can lead to excessive nervousness. Nothing allays fear more than the certain knowledge that you know what comes next, so preparation is critical.
Many people find that the best aid to memory is to have their speech prepared at least a week before delivery and to spend the week consolidating it in their minds. A very effective approach is to use spare moments to ask yourself “What comes after so-and-so?” and when answered, put the speech out of mind. This process, repeated frequently throughout the week, is a very effective way to burn a speech into your brain. Often people learn the first sentence of each section in this way.
Feeling Nervous
It is normal to feel anxious before a big event, ask any professional performer or sports star. But that is okay. The increased level of adrenalin we generate gives us extra energy and helps us to perform at our best.
The problem arises when the level gets too high and it detracts from our performance with symptoms such as dry mouth, tight chest, unwanted body movements and changes in our perception of time. Unfortunately, when this happens we feel even more anxious, which increases our adrenalin levels further, compounding the problem.
Two things can be done to reduce our anxiety, changing our attitude and introducing endorphins into our system.
Our attitude plays a big part in how we are affected. Scientific trials show that people given drugs mimicking adrenalin, and told they are going to feel excited, enjoy the experience, the adrenalin rush. Those given the same drugs and told they would not feel good report anxiety. So people who are able to tell themselves that the speaking date will be exciting and enjoyable, and that any little mistakes will probably go unnoticed are much more likely to enjoy the experience and avoid excessive nervousness. Positive mental attitude helps.
Many people find another way to develop a positive mental attitude is to picture themselves delivering a successful speech to an enthralled audience, and to conjure up that picture repetedly over the days leading up to the speaking event.
A very effective way to introduce endorphins into our system, and give ourselves a feeling of well being and optimism, is to laugh vigoroulsy. It is not necessary to be laughing at something funny, just the physical action of laughing is sufficient to trigger the release of endorphins. Even silent laughing through the nose is usually effective to some extent.
Another way many people find effective in triggering the release of endorphins is to exercise briskly in the hours leading up to the speaking time.
Physical symptoms can also be reduced by taking some simple steps.
The best way to avoid a dry mouth is to drink plenty of water the day before a speech. Water drunk on the day is generally not effective. A tight chest and sick feeling can best be avoided by doing warm up exercises before the speaking date, especially those exercising the upper chest and diaphragm.
A false perception of time is best dealt with by deliberately speaking slowly. A nervous person who thinks that they are speaking far too slowly is probably speaking at the right pace.
Gaining Experience
Nothing prepares us for a big event better that having been there before, many times. In public speaking it helps to attend courses and workshops.
In Toastmasters we believe the best way to avoid excessive nervousness is to build up skills over a period of months. In that time frame everyone participating in the Toastmasters training program is able to develop the skill of thinking ahead while speaking. People with this skill feel newfound confidence and are unlikely to feel excessively nervous because they know, if they lose their place, they are able to pad seamlessly while they recall the next section.
Practice also builds good speaking habits such as using effective eye contact and having and attractive stance. Once these habits are in place, and happen automatically, speakers are more able to concentrate on the substance and delivery of the speech.
© 2007 Eric Davies - Peninsula Toastmasters
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