Public Speaking: Preparation is Key to reduce Public Speaking Fear

Fear of public speaking is universal to all of us but it is best to remember that this is only in the mind. The right approach along with proper preparation will not only make you a good public speaker but will also increase your confidence in public speaking. 

Preparation is all about the topic that you are going to talk about. It is important that you choose a topic that you can relate to very strongly and know pretty well. This will help put in the necessary feeling into your speech, which wouldn’t have been possible with a topic that you do not feel very strongly about. Being passionate about your topic will help create the same passion in the minds of the audience, which is very essential for effective public speaking. 

Once you have chosen your subject, it is important to relate it to your own life. While speaking to an audience, it is important that the audience can relate to your speech. You can achieve this by mixing some stories (from either your life or from the lives of people you know) in your speech as stories add that much-needed personal touch. Before speaking to an audience, it is important to be well prepared with stories that are related to the topic at hand. This can be done by collecting stories from your past as well as the past of those that you have met. If you do not have your own stories to tell, you can always use anecdotes, quotes or stories that are popular and relate them to your topic, which would engage your audience completely.  

A simple habit that can make you an effective public speaker is Journal writing. It is important that you record simple things or happenings in your life in a journal so that you can actually use it in the future while making your speeches. Such notes in your journal will help you a lot to fill your presentation with interesting stories, thereby impressing your audience.  

You may join some public speaking training courses to know about small techniques that will help you to prepare a good speech and engage your audience, which in turn will reduce your fear of speaking in public.

So, start your preparations right now. Plan well ahead of your presentation and see what a big difference it all makes to your final speech.