Extra Tips On How to Get Over Nervousness and Being Scared
While you may have watched many of my videos, some of you may still feel as if you are still extremely nervous and scared to speak in front of people. I am here to give you some more tips on how to get over your nervousness before you speak. Some people say a shot of booze induces relaxation in them while some others tend to go with meditation and yoga, but I just want to give you my view of the hierarchy.
The number one way to get over your nervousness before you speak is to have watched yourself giving the speech on video and having thought that if you could be half as good as the speaker on video that you would be the star of your company or industry. Now you no longer have to visualise what a good speech would look like because you have seen it with your own two eyes! But while it is the most effective way to get over nerves when it comes to public speaking, it is also the least popular one. When I am training people one on one, they do not have a choice to skip out of practicing on video. But when I am training people through online platforms, they can very easily just skip to the next part and not feel obliged to do any of what I ask them to do. However, at the end of the day, if you are still uncomfortable speaking, taking the course has done no good to you.
The second tip for you to get over your nerves is to practice at the location where you are actually supposed to give your speech. It may be a hotel room, a convention center, a conference room, or any other place; you have to get in there and practice. Another very crucial way to build your confidence is to practice in front of a few trusted people and asking them for feedback.
Methods other than these are generally not close to being as effective as the ones mentioned above. One of these is visualization. You can visualize yourself getting a standing ovation, but what good is a standing ovation if your audience does not remember your message or what actions they were supposed to take after your presentation or speech? Unless you want to become a professional keynote speaker, the goal is not to get standing ovations. Your goal is actually to communicate with an audience and make sure that they remember your message.
Another practice many people employ to get over their discomfort is practicing in front of the mirror. The problem with this is that when you are practicing in front of a mirror, your attention is automatically diverted to the elements of your face that bother you. And that does not help you focus on your speaking at all. In fact, it only serves to damage your confidence and self esteem. So if you want to focus on what is important in terms of speaking, then I recommend that you do not try to practice in front of the mirror.
A lot of people also ask me if it is okay for them to take a shot of the liquor or a glass of wine before they go on stage. While it may help you to feel more relaxed, the problem is that doing so may actually hamper your ability to recall. When you are already nervous, the last thing you want is for your ability to recall and remember vanish. Alcohol or any other form of drug impedes your ability to remember what you were trying to say and considering the you’re already very nervous, it is already going to be difficult for you to remember your speech. In such a scenario, It becomes difficult for you to continue speaking, you get stuck, you miss a beat, and you end up getting even more nervous and uncomfortable than before. For other people, drinking even a little bit of alcohol can cause their faces to become red and flushed which does not make for a good appearance. You also have to be wary of the fact that people are probably going to come up to you after your speech to talk to you and if they smell alcohol on your breath, it may form a lasting negative impression of you on them.
Some people want to be even fancier and go for drugs such as beta blockers. I have spoken about this topic in many places, and most of the time I get huge amounts of hate mail telling me that I am foolish but I will be completely honest with you. There are certain beta blockers out there that will actually help to reduce your nervousness. But while it may seem to resolve the problem on the surface, it is not addressing the actual reason behind the discomfort and nervousness. If you have not prepared an interesting speech that will captivate the audience, you are bound to be nervous and uncomfortable. If you feel better but you speeches are still boring and uninteresting, it has not helped to make matters better. It is not just about your hands not shaking, you need to look comfortable, confident, and deliver an interesting speech.
The number one way to get over nervous energy is to focus all of your energy into helping the audience members. You need to focus on how you can help them better their business, organisation, or operations and if you are completely focused on this task at hand, you won’t even have time to think about poor little me.
Here is a bonus tip: I have also heard people telling others to envision their audience in their underwear. This is a horrible advice because depending on your audience, it can either be too disgusting or too exciting. Simply focus on one individual at a time and solve their problem and you will never have to feel frayed nerves ever again.