Speaking on stage in front of an audience full of hundreds of individuals is a wonderful but nerve-racking privilege. It is only natural to be intimidated by a large group of people whose undivided attention is focused on you. To be honest, I had also experienced ‘stage fright’. However, once I got up there and started speaking, it felt very calm and comfortable. If you need some help with public speaking, keep reading my tips below!
Do NOT Read From Your Presentation
This is the most important skill to consider while talking to an audience. It is crucial to maintain eye contact with the public to indicate that you are speaking directly to them. Practice your presentation beforehand and know what you’re talking about. But hey, we’re not robots, we might lose track of our train of thought. In that situation, just take a quick glance at your slide or speech.
Making Mistakes Is Okay
The worst thing to do after making a mistake is making pointing it out to the audience. If possible, try to blend it into the speech. However, if it was obvious, there’s nothing wrong in making a small joke about it. After all, we’re all human and everyone makes errors! It is important to acknowledge them and continue on.
Use Body Language
No audience wants a figure stick speaking to them. Moving around and using body language such as, hand gestures and facial expressions allow to remain relaxed and in control. On the other hand, to make the public comfortable, simply smile at them. To engage the audience, gesture with your arms and hands in a natural way and remember to make eye contact as i have mentioned before. This will make your presentation more lively as well!
Sound Confident
Believe it or not, being confident and sounding confident are two very different things. The tone of your voice should be convincing. Not only does this make the presentation sound more lively, but the audience’s minds will most-likely not drift off and instead will be focused on you. Nonetheless, the more you act like yourself, the more confident you’ll seem, and the more the audience will be able to relate to your speech.
I know that may be a lot to practice but once you’re up there and start speaking freely, all the fright will eventually go away.