CC BY ND Emily Soares
Personally, public speaking is a big fear of mine. I get really nervous and my voice gets shaky, my hands even start to get a little clammy. It is truly my least favorite thing to do. Unfortunately, this is something that I have had to do since middle school and it is not going away any time soon, so might as well get better at it, right?
I know we have all heard a bunch of tips for public speaking and for nerves, but I want to give you some that have actually helped me. To start, how to lessen the nerves. One thing you can do is squeeze your hand into a fist and slowly release it. Another tip is to blow the tip of your thumb. I am really not sure why these help, but I learned it in middle school and have been using it since. Now, as for the actually speaking part, something that makes my speaking sound better is making it seem like a conversation. This way it does not seem like you are speaking at people and you are actually engaging with your audience. Also, when doing this you want to make eye contact. Do not stare at your notes or your visual aids because you will lose that connection with the audience. (a quick tip for eye contact: look over people’s heads. this way, if looking people directly in the eye makes you nervous, looking over their heads gives the illusion of eye contact without the nerves.)
Finally, I wanted to share a YouTube channel that has helped me quite bit with this class and other public speaking events. The YouTube channel is called ‘Communication Coach Alex Lyon’. There are a variety of videos on his channel that give very helpful tips and he collaborates with other Youtubers who are communication experts as well. If you have the time I would really recommend checking their channel out. I will cite a video of his down below for anyone who is interested in checking him out!
Lyon, C. C. A. (2020, January 21). Effective Public Speaking Techniques. YouTube. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZAhgsQdTHg&feature=youtu.be
Gleeson, B. (2020, February 6). 20 Tips for Mastering the Art of Public Speaking. Inc.Com. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.inc.com/brent-gleeson/20-tips-for-mastering-art-of-public-speaking.html
