Even before we get into overcoming fear of public speaking, it's important that we talk about fear itself.
Understanding the root of a problem helps us get a solution much easier.
Did you know that when you were born, you were born with only one fear? Yes, a single one, and it's the fear of falling.
All babies come from their mothers wombs with that singular fear, but as you can see, it's a fear that's an important self-protection mechanism.
What does this mean for you and I? That all other fears are acquired fears.
Something happened in our lives, and the way our minds interpreted the event left a fear in us.
When it comes to public speaking, it may be that you were made fun of once when you were little when you said something out loud.
Or it could be that for some reason, you developed a fear of crowds.
Experts suggest that you take time out to map out your fear, from as far back as you can remember, you will usually be able to find out where it came from and what caused it and just this is enough to help you feel better.
Public speaking can be hard, so do not think that you are weak if you have a fear of public speaking.
If you want to know just how hard it can be, you should be reassured by knowing that for every brilliant speech that an American president makes, there is a team that has taken a long time to prepare it, and even as he is talking, he has cue cards on a screen telling him what to do.
You don't have all these resources with you, so what can you do about overcoming fear of public speaking? There are recommended steps that you can take, and you will find that in time, you will get better and better and eventually, you will no longer be afraid.
1.
Always plan ahead If you know you're going to be giving a speech, don't wait until the night before to start preparing it.
Start early enough for your mind to familiarize with the material.
The more familiar you are with the material, the less likely you will forge what you wanted to say and that means that you will successfully go through your speech.
2.
Do a mental projection This is a great way of overcoming fear of public speaking.
All you need to do is sit quietly and imagine yourself giving the speech.
You are preparing your brain more and more to face the audience.
Make sure that as you imagine, you imagine your audience too - they are sitting, attentively listening and appreciating what you're saying.
3.
Write down notes You have seen even CEO's of the biggest companies get on to the podium with notes.
Make sure that you have guiding pints on what you have to say.
Never rely on your mind to do it by itself until you become a real expert, and even then, you will still find that you occasionally need to refer to notes.
4.
Stop taking yourself so seriously That's usually a big part of the problem; remember, you have only been asked to make a speech, not change the world.
Its going to last a few minutes, you're going to pass a message and you're done.
Taking things too seriously means that you are getting tense in both body and brain, preparing yourself for the worst.
5.
Practice Go in front of the mirror and see how you look.
Better yet, call a friend or a family member that you can rely on to give you a true opinion.
Let them watch you giving the exact same speech and then get their feedback.
Work on the things that they point out.
Overcoming fear of public speaking is a fully psychological thing because its cause its psychological in the first place.
You only need to tell your mind that you can do it, that you need to do it and then go ahead and give it your best shot.
Always remember that thousands of people have overcome it, so you can too.