Public speaking is an act of giving speeches or presentations in front of a large group of people. These speeches can cover a wide range of themes and be used to inform, motivate, or entertain the audience. Good speeches have a long-lasting effect on people. A well delivered speech can motivate you to start a revolution or can even land you that big promotion. Words have the power to persuade people and if used efficiently and effectively, they turn out to be extremely powerful. Typically, public speaking takes place in front of an audience, with the audience listening to you as you talk. This is a frightening experience for some and some even refuse to speak publicly. The fear of public speaking is called Glossophobia and it is quite common.
It is considered a key component of your achievement when you are able to communicate your ideas effectively and correctly. When you are a good speaker, it will help you to grow in your career and business and form strong collaborations with other people throughout the world. It will also help you in promoting your ideas to the people around you.
Speaking in public is used in all the sectors: educational, political and even business sectors. In schools, public speaking is in the form of speeches and elocutions. Politicians deliver speeches to large numbers of people in favour of their votes. In a corporate setting, to market their sales or talk about your business at a conference. Leaving all the formal speeches, you can be invited to give informal speeches too. Either at a wedding as the toastmaster, or while giving a tribute. Speaking in public is an essential act and whether you like it or not, there will always be an instance where you have to give a speech.
Table of Contents
Why Are We Scared of Public Speaking and Glossophobia:
The fear of public speaking is mainly related to the way a person feels, thinks and acts when he is faced with public speaking. There are some reasons as to why a person behaves in this manner.
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Physiology:
When a person is faced by some threatening or fearful situation, the autonomic nervous system is aroused. It is basically our body which prepares us for the threat. Our hyperarousal leads to this fearful emotional reaction, which interferes with our ability to confront the public.
According to best psychologist in india there are some people who are prone to feel anxious in almost every situation. These people are more prone to face anxiety in public speaking and find it difficult which results in avoiding the situation. Some people may also feel anxiety sensitivity or fear of fear. Anxiety sensitivity is when people are not only worried about their anxiety but they also worry about how this anxiety is going to affect their ability to perform. They think that they will come up with anxiety in front of their audience and hence become shaky speakers.
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Thoughts:
Thought is another factor which results in anxiety among the speaker. The way a person thinks and feels about oneself as a speaker, has a lot of affect on the speaker. The way they think about their credibility, image and chances through which they can reach the audience is also going to have an effect on him. When a person thinks all negative about himself, he tends to avoid the audience.
Some people talk about two ways to public speaking ie., performance orientation and communication orientation. Performance orientation means that the person takes public speaking as something which requires skills and the public is taken as judges who are evaluating you as a performer. Communication orientation means that you are mainly focusing on delivering your ideas and information to the audience like they do on a regular basis with people.
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Situation:
Some situations like if there is a new audience, where you have not performed before, may cause anxiety in you. For example if you are asked to people you have expertise in that given area. Likewise if you are having a lack of confidence in yourself or you are having new ideas and want to present them, there may be anxiety which will make you avoid the situation.
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Tips for Glossophobia:
There are some very important tips for and Glossophobia to keep in mind before delivering a speech.
- Firstly, Iit It is necessary to write down points that you want to cover during your speech. The introduction, explanation, dos and don’ts of the topic and so on.
- Secondly, Doing some background research on a topic is mandatory. If you are going to give a speech with many people present, you have to make sure to deliver correct information and facts on the topic. Wrong information can mislead people.
- After taking some points down and fact checking, it’s time to properly formulate a speech and practice your speech. The more you practice your speech, the better you get at delivering the speech.
- If you get nervous while delivering speeches, make sure you practice in front of some family and friends beforehand.
Next, knowing your audience will help how you deliver your speech. The people are there for a reason of Glossophobia and they always take something back from these speeches. If you’re out with friends or family, you can entertain them. If it’s a group of students, motivate and inspire them and if it’s a business conference, you have to make an impactful speech. It is important to engage the audience. Give them something to think about which will encourage questions.
The tone of the speech dictates how the speech is going to end. If it is a monotonous speech, you will start to lose people in the middle. People will get bored and their minds will wander, therefore voice modulation is key. Body language also plays a big role in public speaking. Nervous people tend to speak more quickly in order to finish their speech. They do not bother if the audience is engaged or not. They may also tend to stammer which may affect the deliverance of their speech. Whereas, a confident person maintains eye-contact, tries to slip in a few jokes which will engage the audience and makes sure that their point is being heard.
If the speech was conveyed well, people are going to have questions. Make sure that you always ask people if they have any questions. This shows that you not only care about your speech but also if the audience has understood your speech well. Questions are going to require answers in return; hence it is essential to know your material well and go over your topic beforehand. If there are any questions that catch you out of the blue for which you do not have the answer to, get back to the audience after checking your facts of and Glossophobia. The audience will appreciate this very much.
Public speaking is more of a skill than just an action. If practiced well, anyone can learn a skill. Some people are born with this skill or are naturally gifted in this area, and as a result, they perform well and love speaking in public. For some, it may take a little practice and effort to get better. Public speaking can be a great means of communicating with people and sometimes it can also be called an art.