7 principles to make public speaking effortless
You are stressed, your heart is racing and you have sweaty palms. You are not alone in this feeling — 75% of the global population has a fear of public speaking.
I also had a fear of public speaking… had.
Sat in a lecture theatre at university, the lecturer announced he would pick on people to speak. Immediately, I was visibly sweaty, heart pumping out of my chest, just at the thought of speaking in public. An uncomfortable experience being called upon led to never wanting that feeling again.
Our perception is that speaking in public is stressful, difficult to do, and it makes us super uncomfortable. Public speaking takes work, but the effort is in the preparation. If you prepare right, using my 7 principles you really can make public speaking effortless on the day.
Principle 1: Know your preferences
Ask yourself the questions:
Where do you do your best thinking?
Are you task driven or people driven?
How do you like to prepare?
What stories can you tell?
These things should shape how you prepare.
Prepare in the right way for you as there is no one size fits all for public speaking. Base it all around your preferences to make pre-presentation as easy as possible. One way to do this is to think about how you can prepare best for you.
Principle 2: You know your stuff
You wouldn’t be delivering speaking if you didn’t know anything about the topic.
Think about:
What you know
What your processes are
Your experiences
We all experience imposter syndrome and think that we know less than everyone else. The reality is that not everyone will have the knowledge from your perspective. Back yourself, because you know your stuff. When we experience imposter syndrome we believe we know less than our reality. I show this within the image below.
Imposter syndrome
Principle 3: Shape your narrative
What story are you telling yourself? Is it that, ‘this will be stressful’ or, ‘this will be hard’. If that is your narrative, it will become your reality.
Is your story:
One of what you have gained or what you have lost?
One of what you have learned or what you have failed at?
One of opportunity or limitation?
You have the choice to shape your story because it is ‘yours’.
When your heart beats fast, or when you start to sweat; these things are preparing you for the task at hand. They help you deliver at your best. Use power posing to help you bring your best self to the table.
Principle 4: It’s not about you, it’s about your audience
Public speaking is about landing your message and connecting with your audience. Focus on what your audience want and need. Build connection with the audience through telling stories. You might feel like everyone is judging you but this is not the reality. We get this perception because we are the core of our universe; but you are not the core of everyone’s universe.
Principle 5: Tell stories that resonate
People love a story. If you can tell the audience their story, they will resonate with you as a person. When they resonate with you, your messages will land. Everyone has stories to tell. Think about Ted from How I Met Your Mother; he tells his kids 9 seasons worth of stories from his life. It’s about how you frame your experiences.
Principle 6: Embrace silence
People are uncomfortable with silence, but silences do not need to be filled. In a presentation, it gives you time to pause, and read the room. It also gives the audience time to think and digest what you are telling them. We should embrace silence in everyday life. The world is busy and removes the time to think, but embracing silence gives people time to think about what you are saying in real time.
Principle 7: Seek feedback
Seek feedback on your delivery from everyone. Seek feedback on the content from believable people in that field. Ask the questions:
Do your stories resonate with people?
What should you do more of?
Is there anything you could do differently?
Gather feedback to assist your learning journey.
When you have a public speaking event, rather than thinking it will be hard, or stressful, consider whether it can be easy. Using these seven principles you can make public speaking effortless by preparing in the best way for you.