If when you think of an oral presentation in class, a job interview or a more extreme case, if simply thinking of saying a few words in front of your group of friends on your birthday or atin fornt of the rommies in your new student housing produces nervousness, sweats, blushes , a higher tone of voice or even stuttering is because you suffer, to a greater or lesser extent, stage fright. Overcoming this fear is important, since throughout your life you will be exposed to this situation on several occasions, and to succeed you have to know how to get out of them successfully.
If you identify with this fear, you should know that there are many people who feel the same as you, and that there are methods to work with it and significantly improve your skills when speaking in public and face these situations with confidence.
First of all, do not obsess over trying to put all the tips into practice at the same time because you can achieve the opposite effect. It is also not recommended that, while you are presenting your argument, you are constantly thinking about whether your body language, your tone or the structure of the sentence are correct. Naturalness is often the key to a successful exhibition. It is better to be spontaneous and fun than to be too corseted for fear of screw up. Sometimes it is better to make a joke about a mistake to minimize it, than to try to hide it or ignore it.
The main thing to feel confident when you have to speak in public is to master the topic you are going to talk about. Therefore, it is best to prepare your presentation or speech for a job interview in advance.
Focus on the aspects you want to highlight, the most relevant information and configure your speech around them. And what do you have to do to master the subject? As in everything in life: rehearse, rehearse and rehearse. The more the better. If you do it in front of a mirror or tell someone about it, you can also practice gesturing and you can correct any errors that arise. Visualize yourself in the classroom, or in front of the people you are going to talk to, so the situation will be more familiar to you when it arrives.
Once you have mastered the content of the presentation, it is time to control body language. You can do it in front of the mirror or even record yourself with your mobile. So you can discover what vices you have and correct them. The most common is excessive hand movement, touching your hair, etc. Having a pen in your hands will give you security and minimize your inappropriate movements.
To avoid one of the biggest fears, that of going blank, you can prepare a brief outline of what you have to expose with keywords or opt for a visual support of a power point to guide your intervention. Not only will you help the audience to follow the order of the speech, but at the same time, you will have your “cheat sheet” at hand.
When we are nervous we tend to speak faster and louder, so by regulating the intensity and speed of the voice, you will not only help the audience to understand you better, but you will self-regulate your nerves yourself.
Do not forget that you are talking to people, so look at them from time to time, interact with them, so that they can notice that the conversation is two-way and get involved in it.