By Eowyn Thompson
In the university setting, public speaking is a common experience. Many students are expected to give presentations in classes, activities and beyond. Yet a great number of students have a fear of public speaking.
In fact, according to a study by the National Institute of Health, 63.9% of college students are afraid of public speaking. Public speaking can be an additional source of anxiety for students, so finding ways to quell or completely dispel this fear can be very helpful.
To understand how to cope with a fear of public speaking, it can be helpful to understand where it originates from. In humanity’s prehistoric days, social rejection would lead to a person being expelled from their tribe and ultimately their death. Speaking in front of an audience activates a similar fear, even though the repercussions now aren’t so severe. Public speaking is the most common phobia, even above the fear of death.
So, what can be done to ease such a widespread fear? There isn’t any magic cure, but there are many things you can do to attempt to decrease your anxiety.
- Practice! The first and arguably most important tip is to practice. Being prepared, knowing a lot about your topic, and having an outline of everything you want to say will help you feel more confident.
- Don’t Memorize. While knowing what you want to say is good, memorizing your entire speech makes you less flexible, and you are more likely to freeze up. You don’t need a script, just an outline.
- Embrace Silence. During a speech, a brief moment of silence to collect your thoughts may feel much longer to you than to your audience. Give yourself grace and remember you are harder on yourself than your audience is.
- Take Deep Breaths. According to Mayo Clinic, anxiety normally peaks at the beginning of your presentation but will settle over time. Therefore, taking deep breaths right before your speech can help to calm you at the height of your fear.
- Think Positively. If you assume everything will go wrong, you are going to be more nervous. Try to reframe your thoughts and focus on the things that can go right. Don’t doom your presentation before it begins; there’s more that can go right than wrong.
- Forget Your Audience. Think back to the times when you were listening to someone else’s presentation. You likely were either absorbing what they were saying or were sometimes not really paying attention. How many times were you catching their mistakes? Were you judging the small stutters or pasues they made? No! So remember that your audience will likely behave similarly and only be seeking to learn from your speech. So, forget about them and focus on what you are saying.
It’s true that public speaking can be very stressful, but it is important to remember that you are far from the only person who finds it nerve-wracking. Practice, take a deep breath, and remember; you’ve got this!