How To Survive Public Speaking

Very recently, I was faced with a situation where I had to read in front of a crowd of around three thousand people. The situation was extremely traumatic, since I'd never been in that situation before, nor had I known where to go for some tips on calming myself down and keeping my voice slow and even. I felt after going through that confusion and utter panic, there really needs to be something out there to help first-timers.

Practice As Much As Possible

While it seems strange to force yourself into a world of only these words over and over, you will find that no matter what length your speech is, it will start to be memorised. Even if this does spark more panic within you (I know it so well that I'll probably trip over every word on the day!), it is essential for how you project your voice and how confident you appear as you read. Being able to remember a line, or even just a few words, means you can lift your head to the crowd and speak out. You'd be surprised at the difference this makes, even with a microphone constantly projecting your voice. It also means you won't be as afraid to lift your head and forget a line because you are without sufficient practice. A good practice method if you go to a school would be to read to people from other years who you don't know and who you might feel uncomfortable talking to otherwise. Even reading to people who you do know, but in a way that they've never seen you before, can make you feel better. Once you feel comfortable in the skin of the person reading (you often become more confident and change your voice, thus becoming an almost entirely different person) you should be okay and not feel so self conscious.

Talk About It

Don't keep all your stress and panic bottled up inside. Talk to as many different people as possible, such as friends, parents and the organisers of the event you'll be speaking at. The more worried you become, the more they'll give advice and tell you that it isn't as bad as you're making it out to be. Though you might think this would make you feel worse, the constant repeating of a problem can often lead you to becoming so familiarised with that problem that it's no longer such a big deal. In fact, I complained so much to my friends and family about my public speaking that I eventually got sick of myself and just wanted it over with.

Think About Afterwards

What really helped me was just thinking about the complete wash of relief I was going to feel after I left the stage. No matter how badly you believe you'll do, every other person watching you is guaranteed to be thinking about how they could never do what you're doing, never in a million years. Nobody will judge you for tripping over a word, and when you get off that stage there'll be a large amount of people thinking they just saw a complete other side to you. Daring, confident and braver than they could ever be. Nearly every single person who congratulated me afterwards said something about how incredible what I'd done was, and I how I should be proud of myself for even setting foot on that stage with so many faces watching.

Accept Praise

After you've spoken in front of crowd, there is more than likely going to be a huge swamp of people ready to talk about how amazing you were. Don't pass this off as people humouring you or feeling sorry for you; they genuinely are impressed and are wishing they had that strength. I spent a whole week listening to people telling me how good what I read was, and how I didn't even stumble. One or two people told me, quite cruely, that I was bright red when I was reading, and another asked if I'd been crying before I read. Ignore these sorts of comments and focus on the positive: You did it. You got through the trembling legs and initial thoughts of 'I could never do this' and now it's time to accept your reward. Even if you come out of it with an ego bigger than you could ever imagine yourself having, you deserve it.

Public speaking is probably one of the most terrifying things if you're shy, quiet or believe you have a terrible voice and no self confidence. It can also be terrifying for those with confidence and who think that they might possibly be able to get up there and do it. The truth is, anyone can do it if they get past the nerves and the thoughts of not being able to. Once you beat those thoughts you can do it, and once you read in front of a crowd of people, you can do anything.