21 Tips on How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking

Speaking publicly requires a lot of self-confidence.

Sooner or later, we are all going to speak in public, in class, in small meetings, or in front of big audiences whether we like it or not.

In the beginning, it will always be a little uncertain and scary.

Glossophobia refers to a strong fear of public speaking. Individuals suffering from glossophobia often have fear and anxiety while speaking in front of a group of people.

As a result, people with glossophobia will want to avoid speaking publicly in order to save themselves from being embarrassed or rejected by others.

There are way that can minimize and reduce your fear of public speaking.

Here are some tips that will help you control and conquer your fear.

Preparation Phase

1. Choose a Topic You are Familiar with

If you are not really used to getting on stage, might as well choose a topic that is comfortable to you.

The stage may not be your friend, at least your topic will not betray you no matter what happens. It should be the kind of topic that you know the insides and outs, and something that you have experienced before. Something you won’t get lost to.

If it’s not possible to choose your own topic, you have no choice but to study the topic very well to a level where the audience would think that you’ve been practicing it for a very long time.

Reliability is a very important criterion for every speech. Though being picked on a topic you are not known for happens rarely.

Most of the time, we are asked to talk about something that we have lived for or something that is connected to our job, our personality, or our passion.

But if the situation calls for you to talk about something that is not connected to you in any way, I am sure that this topic will be given to you ahead of time and you will have enough room to study your topic in its every detail.

2. Organize the Flow of Your Speech

Every speech needs an interesting flow for it to have better feedback from the audience. This part should be planned and finalized before you start practicing your speech.

After identifying the key points, organize them in an order where the first key point is not so complicated but interesting enough to keep them listening up to the more important key points where the overall core of your speech lies.

3. Find a Reliable Reference

Anyone can write an interesting speech, but some of these speeches can be deceiving. There are speeches that are intentionally made to fool people.

But in terms of decent official speeches, you must have a highly reliable source. This will make your speech more credible and you will gain more audiences in the future.

Check the legitimacy of your sources. Nowadays, information is all over the internet, we don’t know which is fake and which is true. Check the authors, the institutions, and the date of your source.

Legit references will also boost your speech and your confidence knowing that your speech will be full of dependable information.

4. Anticipate Questions

It is unavoidable for audiences to have questions after your speech. This is the part where the speaker and the audience have a chance to participate with each other.

Most functions that require speech have a question and answer portion at the end of the speech.

Study your topic very well not just to have a smooth performance but also to anticipate questions from the audience. You will discover some parts of your speech that might be hard to comprehend if you are a listening audience.

Read your speech again and again and find these vague areas. You don’t have to rewrite your speech if unnecessary. Just prepare to have an answer when the audience has questions.

5. Practice

Now that you have made sure that you have speech-worthy material, you have to practice delivering it in front of many people.

Before doing so, you must have memorized your speech or the important stuff at least at this point. Practice in front of the mirror, try doing some hand gestures to further emphasize your point.

Polish your speech and then try speaking in front of small crowds, it may not be necessary to talk about your topic but you can butt it in in bits.

Small crowds may include your family and your friends. They can also give some constructive criticism to help you improve your incoming speech performance.

Try not to be too sensitive about their feedback and use it to gain more development and courage to speak to bigger crowds.

6. Take a video

Film your practices as well. In this process, you can be your critique especially if you are sensitive to other people’s feedback.

It will be more personal if you yourself can notice your shortcomings instead of other people correcting you and you can also modify your speech based on your own ideas and correction.

Don’t get me wrong, both self-criticism and outside feedback will benefit you. You just have to be open-minded.

7. Be Positive

Start training your mind to have a positive outlook on things.

Fear of public speaking may also be associated with fear of failure. If you have prepared with the best of your effort, the less likely you are to fail.

Believe in yourself. For people who have inferiorities, this will sound close to impossible, but the truth is we are capable of a lot of good things. We just have to recognize our skills and put them to good use.

If you want people to believe in you, you should believe in yourself first. You’ll be a better speaker if you do.

8. Get used to having audiences

Most people who have fear of public speaking don’t socialize often. Or if they do, maybe with a small group of friends. Who needs a lot of people anyway?

“No man is an island” so they say, might as well maximize the chance of meeting new people and joining big gatherings.

This may not change your preferences in the number of friends, but it is a good training ground for you to not be intimidated by big crowds.

9. Socialize

Having speaking engagements requires a two-way response, from you to your audience and from the audience to you. It is the essence of communication.

You can’t be communicating if there is no response. You can practice socializing by trying to talk to people who are in the same interests as you.

Find a crowd that is fond of things that you also like. That way, you won’t get lost in the conversation and it will be easy for you to express yourself and socialize.

Having a conversation with someone who has different interests than you has its perks too. You’ll have new information, new ideas that can help you see from a different perspective.

Talking in front of an audience, you’ll have tons of different personalities in front of you. Having an experience talking to different people will give you a hint of how a diverse group of people thinks. It will help you decide on a better response and anticipation of what they will ask or how will they react.

10. Therapy

Glossophobia can also be traced to an unpleasant childhood experience. Seeking professional help would really help you address this matter from its roots.

There are different levels of the severity of glossophobia. Mild levels can be treated by a simple lifestyle change and a positive outlook, but more serious levels need psychotherapy.

Don’t be intimidated by these terms. All of these methods are created for the better condition it promises.

There are two usual kinds of therapy used for Glossophobia which are Exposure Therapy where the patients are exposed to their triggers, enabling their minds to adapt and manage their fears on the spot.

Then there’s the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy that involves changing individuals’ mental, emotional, and behavioral processing of situations that may cause their strong fears of public speaking, which may include exposure at times.

These therapies are meant to help those who really want to overcome their fear of public speaking. Everyone who has it must act urgently before it gets worse.

11. Medication

Some therapists may suggest medications for you to be able to control your fear of public speaking, especially in the worst times.

Certain medications are used to control symptoms of glossophobia, based on an individual’s situation and previous treatments. Anti-anxiety medications, such as benzodiazepines, may aid in the prevention or control of anxiety or panic attacks.

Another class of medication that may help reduce symptoms of speech anxiety, such as increased heart rate, sweating, and dizziness, is beta-blockers, such as propranolol.

Sedatives may help relax and calm the body in some cases when confronted with a triggering situation. Antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or selective serotonin-norepinephrine inhibitors (SSNIs) may also help with social anxiety.

If a situation calls for the use of these medications, don’t hesitate to take them. Oftentimes, panic attacks happen at the most unconventional time. Always be prepared to have medication before you take the stage just in case.

Actual Phase

12. Run Over Your Speech Before Taking the Stage

Last-minute preparations are needed to be done. Review your speech and take note of the key points you listed. This will be your guide as you go through your speech.

This will be a run-through of all the things that you’ve done to prepare for this moment. It may be overwhelming, but it all will be worth it. Calm your nerves and focus on your piece.

This is just a dry run of your speech. You must have learned it thoroughly at this point.

13. Deep breathes

Your heart rate must be shooting upwards right before your show. This is normal. You don’t have to overthink it because it may push your heart rate even higher.

Deep breathes and inhale slowly from your nose, hold a bit and then exhale slowly through your mouth. 12-15 repetitions of these will help you calm down and meditate.

Let your mind relax as you breathe and start focusing on your goal which is delivering a well-prepared speech.

14. Condition your mind

With all the things that are happening to you right at that moment, your thoughts are probably disoriented and a bit hard to handle.

You have to recognize first the fact that your mind is currently unstable and start from there. How are you going to re-align your thoughts and compose yourself over again?

Your mind is having negative thoughts so it is very advisable to find a distraction. Find someone to talk to, better yet, someone who has been with you in all of the processes. They will know how to calm you down and how hard you’ve worked for this moment.

If they can’t physically be with you, try to call. Talking it out is what you need. You have to release these negative ideas so you can fill your mind with new positive ideas and return to the person who has worked hard since day 1.

15. Bring Water

Water is said to have natural calming properties, most likely as a result of combating the effects of dehydration on the body and brain. Drinking enough water can induce feelings of relaxation.

Practicing good drinking habits is a must. To be prepared for moments like this, you have to invest time in your own health. Drinking lots of water will not only be good for your physical health but also for your mental health.

The common advice for everyone is to drink 8 glasses of water every day. But if you are having some anxiety issues, you must pump it up some more. The number of glasses you should drink every day depends on your personal health and lifestyle.

Panic attacks are a common side effect of dehydration-induced anxiety. If you’re prone to panic attacks, dehydration can quickly cause you to panic.

Keeping yourself hydrated is not a solution for depression, panic attacks, or anxiety. However, developing the habit of drinking plenty of water on a daily basis will undoubtedly help relieve many causes and symptoms of mood uncertainty.

16. Remember Your Preparations

There will be a moment when you will have a mental block. The moment you got up the stage, and see the huge number of people in front of you will intimidate you and start losing your composure.

You are not the only one who has gone through this experience before. Remember, if other people can do it so can you. Remember your preparations and how you’ve worked hard for this moment.

You are prepared and you can do a good job of speaking publicly. You just have to remember it.

17. Bring a List if Needed

The mental block may get you lost somewhere in the speech. A list or an overview of your speech will come in handy.

If it’s possible to bring a shortlist of your key points, bring it. If it’s possible to bring a copy of your whole speech better.

18. Clear your Mind/Reset

If negativity still manages to get the best of you, clear your mind of everything. Deep breathes, drink water, and just let go of your inhibitions.

Go back to where you begin, and how you imagined yourself delivering this speech and apply it.

You are the speaker, you are the star of the show, you just have to own it.

19. Go with The Flow

Go back to your list and try building momentum from there. You have nowhere to go but forward. You have conquered your fear up until that moment. You are so close.

Build yourself and recognize the finish line of the long hard work that you are about to accomplish. you’re almost there.

20. End with a Positive Note

Leave your audience with positivity. After all, when you thought that you can’t pull this through, you have proven yourself wrong.

Everyone is capable of conquering their fears, they just need to put their minds and hearts into it.

21. Bring Your Experience to Your Next Public Speaking Engagement

Now that you have your own personal experience of overcoming the fear of public speaking, It will be easier for you the next time.

Remember all these tips and take note of your personal experience as well. You may have discovered something that works for you personally that you can also share with others who also have the same fear or phobias.

Believe in Yourself

Be confident. If you don’t believe in yourself, who else will?

Find the purpose of your existence and share it with everyone. This small gesture of showcasing your skills will improve your self-esteem and boost your confidence. These attributes are very essential when it comes to public speaking.

Don’t think too much about other people’s impressions. If you have found something that makes sense and makes you happy, continue doing it. As long as you feel good about yourself, no one can just say something to destroy your vibe.

Do activities that will elevate your morale like cliff diving, target shooting, and charity works. Activities like this will excite you and will give you a bit of adrenaline, and afterward, will give you a sense of fulfillment. It is a very liberating feeling.

Don’t let fear stop you from experiencing life. There is courage inside of you if you start believing.

Was this Article Helpful?

Fear of anything is hard to overcome. We hope that we have aided those who are in need of these tips to improve their views on speaking publicly.

If you have questions or some added tips that may help our readers, leave us a message. We are always excited to read your comments and learn as well.