3 Strategies To Overcome Fear Of Public Speaking

Are you tired or tired of being limited by the fear of public speaking? If you have had to face him, surely you already know a lot of tips or tricks to overcome this fear. Some will work better for you than others, but it seems that none of those strategies is the final one, right? In this article I will explain 3 novel strategies to end the fear of public speaking.

For these strategies to work, it is essential that you know perfectly, almost by heart, what you have to say. You have to have your speech super learned, if you are afraid to speak in public one of your biggest enemies is spending little time studying the presentation you have to do.

1. Face your fear with the “worst fantasy” technique

The worst fantasy technique is a very useful strategy to overcome the fear of public speaking. It belongs to the Brief Strategic Therapy approach and is an exercise in “controlled worry”. This technique invites you, a week before you have to speak in public, to perform the following exercise each day:

“Every day at the same time, lock yourself in your room or in a place where you can be with dim light and without being disturbed. Lock yourself there to make sure no one is going to interrupt you. Take your mobile and set the timer to ring at 30 minutes. You have to sit comfortably and for 30 minutes you will dedicate yourself to feeling the fear of speaking in public.

Instead of avoiding this fear, you are going to think about everything that worries you the most that happens when you speak in public and you are going to let all the fear flow. Once the 30 minutes have passed and the alarm sounds, you will interrupt your thoughts, your sensations, you will say STOP! or STOP! You get up, leave the room, go to the bathroom and wash your face and go on with your tasks and routine “

2. Declare your “fear” or reveal your “weakness”

This strategy is for you to apply when you start your speech or presentation. If you are afraid to speak in public, the most effective thing is to declare and confess your fear. It is about explaining to your audience that you are very excited or enthusiastic, that you appreciate them very much the fact that they are there and that you can count on their presence.

Then, you also have to directly address the next point: explain to them that if you lose the thread or get a little nervous, excuse you. If it happens it will be because you are very happy to be able to make your presentation and to have them as an audience. In this way, declaring your fear or weakness will relieve you of the pressure to “not show yourself.” With this strategy, you will free yourself from being focused on nobody noticing your fear and making it go unnoticed.

Declare a fragility, it turns it into a strength, you also connect with your audience and awaken empathy. Because remember that a large percentage of the population has Social Phobia and / or fear of speaking in public, your audience will understand you and the atmosphere will be more relaxed. All of this will notably help you overcome your fear of public speaking.

3. Control your breathing and start speaking very slowly

Controlling your breath is one of the most useful tools to overcome your fear of public speaking. You have to concentrate on breathing deeply and practicing diaphragmatic breathing (stomach instead of chest), stopping being aware of your nerves or fear and focusing all your senses on breathing.

As you begin your speech, make an effort to speak slowly, in this way you improve the neurological feedback that speech generates and you will better manage your fear. Because, if you speak slowly, you block the symptoms of fear, since you are shifting your attention towards a neutral element, such as the rhythm of your voice, and away from fear.

These 3 strategies are among the most useful to overcome the fear of public speaking and they work for cases of “fear” but not of “phobia” (excessively intense and paralyzing fear). If in your case you have a phobia of public speaking, these strategies will help you get out of the way.  If you are a person with a fear of public speaking, practice these strategies, you will see how you overcome your fear. Cheer up!