WITHOUT THESE TEN THINGS DONT MARRY YOUR PARTNER
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As a therapist who specializes in relationships, I can’t help but notice several skills and personality features that can make or break a relationship. No, this is not going to be an article about making sure to find a rich guy who likes to spoon or a hot girl who likes to watch football. These 10 skills are what makes couples feel satisfied, connected, and happy with each other regardless of their superficial characteristics. If you have a partner who can do all 10 of these, (and you can do them as well), you will have a very satisfying relationship:
1. Date someone who can delay gratification.
In other words, the ability to do an unpleasant thing instead of an enjoyable thing to achieve a more important benefit. Being in a healthy partnership means being able to suck it up and deal with all kinds of unpleasant things (embarrassment, vulnerability, taking out the trash, resisting acting on angry impulses, actively listening instead of playing video games, running a boring errand, etc.) for the sake of the other person and the sake of the relationship.
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2. Date someone who can be present.
Relationships suffer when one or both partners is not able to engage at the moment with the other person. Of course, we are all busy and can’t exactly sit around staring at our partners quietly all day long, but the ability to genuinely listen to and focus on the other person at least a few times a week is important. If your significant other is unable to unplug, disconnect from distraction, and engage in interacting with you, this could lead to loneliness down the road. Also, people who can be present and attentive to one thing are excellent listeners, since they are simply in the moment focused on what the other person is saying.
3. Date someone who makes you feel emotionally safe.
Being “emotionally safe” with your significant other means that you are comfortable being vulnerable, making direct requests, and being yourself in his/her presence. If you have a partner who criticizes, is defensive, talks you out of your feelings (is invalidating), or is often annoyed or condescending toward you, you will eventually grow to feel “emotionally unsafe” in that relationship. Partners who feel emotionally unsafe feel disconnected and powerless at best, and depressed and miserable at worst. If your partner is open to hearing what you have to say (even when s/he does not like it), does not act defensive or critical of you, feels that your emotions are understandable, and considers your requests and desires, s/he can make you feel emotionally safe.
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4. Date someone who can tolerate not being in control.
A healthy, happy relationship consists of two people who can tolerate the feeling of not being in control once in a while. This skill is required in many situations, from letting someone else choose the paint color for the bathroom, to letting someone else openly share feelings that can’t exactly be “fixed.”
5. Date someone who can take control when necessary.
Some people struggle with being responsible for decisions and actions. Whether it is calling the plumber when the sink is leaking, or resisting buying a new sofa because it isn’t in the budget, the ability to be “in charge” and “proactive” is a positive quality in a partner.
ADVERTISING
6. Date someone who knows and appropriately communicates his/her feelings.
Emotionally aware partners can pinpoint that they are feeling disrespected, ignored, or lonely instead of simply flying off in a reactive, non-constructive rage. If your partner is emotionally aware enough to understand his/her feelings, this is a good sign for your relationship.
7. Date someone who knows and appropriately communicates his/her needs.
If your partner can directly request his/her needs without criticism, yelling, passivity, aggression, or passive-aggression, this is a great sign. If your partner calmly makes specific requests for you to change a behavior without making you feel inadequate or inferior, you probably have a keeper on your hands.
ADVERTISING
8. Date someone who can be humble.
Humility is required during the process of forgiving someone else for their mistakes and during the process of asking for forgiveness from someone else. In a happy, healthy relationship, both people can abandon ego and pride when necessary.
9. Date someone who can tolerate emotional intimacy and togetherness.
In a happy, healthy partnership, both people are comfortable sharing emotions, thoughts, and needs. If a problem arises, they are comfortable discussing it instead of avoiding it and pretending it doesn’t exist. They share vulnerabilities, fears, successes, and life goals comfortably.
ADVERTISING
10. Date someone who can tolerate separateness.
The ability to tolerate separateness means that he/she is comfortable doing things on his/her own. And when you are doing things on your own, he/she is not texting or calling you constantly. Being able to be on your own once in a while without experiencing anxiety is a sign of security and trust.
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Angelica shiels
Date Someone Who Can Do These 10 Things To Make You Happy
8 Practical Tips for Parents of Kids with ADHD
12 Ways To Teach Your Children The Skill Of Empathy
8 Things You Should Never Say to Your Spouse
The Best Thing a Parent Can do for a Highly Emotional Child.
TRENDING IN COMMUNICATION
1I Want To Be Happy: 7 Science-Backed Ways to Find Happiness
213 Ways Happy People Think and Feel Differently
310 Morning Habits Of Happy People
4What Makes People Happy? 20 Secrets of “Always Happy” People
513 Simple Habits of Happiness To Change Your Outlook on Life
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How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Personal Goals
How To Relieve Stress And Restore Energy
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Last Updated on July 20, 2021
How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking (A Step-by-Step Guide)
Eugene Cheng
Eugene is Lifehack's Entrepreneurship Expert. He is the co-founder and creative lead of HighSpark, offering presentation training for companies. Read full profile
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How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking (A Step-by-Step Guide)
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You’re standing behind the curtain, just about to make your way on stage to face the many faces half-shrouded in darkness in front of you. As you move towards the spotlight, your body starts to feel heavier with each step. A familiar thump echoes throughout your body – your heartbeat has gone off the charts.
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one with glossophobia(also known as speech anxiety or the fear of speaking to large crowds). Sometimes, the anxiety happens long before you even stand on stage.
Your body’s defense mechanism responds by causing a part of your brain to release adrenaline into your blood – the same chemical that gets released as if you were being chased by a lion.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you overcome your fear of public speaking:
1. Prepare yourself mentally and physically
According to experts, we’re built to display anxiety and to recognize it in others. If your body and mind are anxious, your audience will notice. Hence, it’s important to prepare yourself before the big show so that you arrive on stage confident, collected, and ready.
“Your outside world is a reflection of your inside world. What goes on in the inside, shows on the outside.” – Bob Proctor
Exercising lightly before a presentation helps get your blood circulating and sends oxygen to the brain. Mental exercises, on the other hand, can help calm the mind and nerves. Here are some useful ways to calm your racing heart when you start to feel the butterflies in your stomach:
Warming up
If you’re nervous, chances are your body will feel the same way. Your body gets tense, your muscles feel tight or you’re breaking in a cold sweat. The audience will notice you are nervous.
If you observe that this is exactly what is happening to you minutes before a speech, do a couple of stretches to loosen and relax your body. It’s better to warm up before every speech as it helps to increase the functional potential of the body as a whole. Not only that, it increases muscle efficiency, improves reaction time and your movements.
Here are some exercises to loosen up your body before showtime:
ADVERTISING
Neck and shoulder rolls – This helps relieve upper body muscle tension and pressure as the rolls focus on rotating the head and shoulders, loosening the muscle. Stress and anxiety can make us rigid within this area which can make you feel agitated, especially when standing.
Arm stretches – We often use this part of our muscles during a speech or presentation through our hand gestures and movements. Stretching these muscles can reduce arm fatigue, loosen you up and improve your body language range.
Waist twists – Place your hands on your hips and rotate your waist in a circular motion. This exercise focuses on loosening the abdominal and lower back regions which is essential as it can cause discomfort and pain, further amplifying any anxieties you may experience.
Stay hydrated
Ever felt parched seconds before speaking? And then coming up on stage sounding raspy and scratchy in front of the audience? This happens because the adrenaline from stage fright causes your mouth to feel dried out.
To prevent all that, we must stay adequately hydrated before a speech. A sip of water will do the trick. However, do drink in moderation so that you won’t need to go to the bathroom constantly.
Try to avoid sugary beverages and caffeine, since it’s a diuretic – meaning you’ll feel thirstier. It will also amplify your anxiety which prevents you from speaking smoothly.
Meditate
Meditation is well-known as a powerful tool to calm the mind. ABC’s Dan Harris, co-anchor of Nightline and Good Morning America weekend and author of the book titled10% Happier, recommends that meditation can help individuals to feel significantly calmer, faster.
Meditation is like a workout for your mind. It gives you the strength and focuses to filter out the negativity and distractions with words of encouragement, confidence, and strength.
Mindfulness meditation, in particular, is a popular method to calm yourself before going up on the big stage. The practice involves sitting comfortably, focusing on your breathing, and then bringing your mind’s attention to the present without drifting into concerns about the past or future – which likely includes floundering on stage.
Here’s a nice example of guided meditation before public speaking:
2. Focus on your goal
One thing people with a fear of public speaking have in common is focusing too much on themselves and the possibility of failure.
⌄ Scroll down to continue reading the article ⌄
Become Super Productive with The Full Life Planner
Grab your Full Life Planner to plan your day for maximum productivity and get more done in less time.
Get My Planner
⌄ Scroll down to continue reading the article ⌄
Do I look funny? What if I can’t remember what to say? Do I look stupid? Will people listen to me? Does anyone care about what I’m talking about?’
Instead of thinking this way, shift your attention to your one true purpose – contributing something of value to your audience.
ADVERTISING
Decide on the progress you’d like your audience to make after your presentation. Notice their movements and expressions to adapt your speech to ensure that they are having a good time leaving the room as better people.
If your focus isn’t beneficial and what it should be when you’re speaking, then shift it to what does. This is also key to establishing trust during your presentation as the audience can see that you have their interests at heart.[1]
3. Convert negativity to positivity
There are two sides constantly battling inside of us – one is filled with strength and courage while the other is doubt and insecurities. Which one will you feed?
‘What if I mess up this speech? What if I’m not funny enough? What if I forget what to say?’
It’s no wonder why many of us are uncomfortable giving a presentation. All we do is bring ourselves down before we got a chance to prove ourselves. This is also known as a self-fulfilling prophecy – a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it already is. If you think you’re incompetent, then it will eventually become true.
Motivational coaches tout that positive mantras and affirmations tend to boost your confidence for the moments that matter most. Say to yourself: “I’ll ace this speech and I can do it!”
Take advantage of your adrenaline rush to encourage positive outcomes rather than thinking of the negative ‘what ifs’.
Here’s a video of Psychologist Kelly McGonigal who encourages her audience to turn stress into something positive as well as provide methods on how to cope with it:
4. Understand your content
Knowing your content at your fingertips helps reduce your anxiety because there is one less thing to worry about. One way to get there is to practice numerous times before your actual speech.
ADVERTISING
However, memorizing your script word-for-word is not encouraged. You can end up freezing should you forget something. You’ll also risk sounding unnatural and less approachable.
“No amount of reading or memorizing will make you successful in life. It is the understanding and the application of wise thought that counts.” – Bob Proctor
Many people unconsciously make the mistake of reading from their slides or memorizing their script word-for-word without understanding their content – a definite way to stress themselves out.
Understanding your speech flow and content makes it easier for you to convert ideas and concepts into your own words which you can then clearly conversationally explain to others. Designing your slides to include text prompts is also an easy hack to ensure you get to quickly recall your flow when your mind goes blank.[2]
One way to understand is to memorize the over-arching concepts or ideas in your pitch. It helps you speak more naturally and let your personality shine through. It’s almost like taking your audience on a journey with a few key milestones.
5. Practice makes perfect
Like most people, many of us are not naturally attuned to public speaking. Rarely do individuals walk up to a large audience and present flawlessly without any research and preparation.
Some of the top presenters make it look easy during showtime because they have spent countless hours behind the scenes in deep practice. Even great speakers like the late John F. Kennedy would spend months preparing his speech beforehand.
Public speaking, like any other skill, requires practice – whether it be practicing your speech countless times in front of a mirror or making notes. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect!
6. Be authentic
There’s nothing wrong with feeling stressed before going up to speak in front of an audience.
Many people fear public speaking because they fear others will judge them for showing their true, vulnerable selves. However, vulnerability can sometimes help you come across as more authentic and relatable as a speaker.
ADVERTISING
Drop the pretense of trying to act or speak like someone else and you’ll find that it’s worth the risk. You become more genuine, flexible, and spontaneous, which makes it easier to handle unpredictable situations – whether it’s getting tough questions from the crowd or experiencing an unexpected technical difficulty.
To find out your authentic style of speaking is easy. Just pick a topic or issue you are passionate about and discuss this like you normally would with a close family or friend. It is like having a conversation with someone in a personal one-to-one setting. A great way to do this on stage is to select a random audience member(with a hopefully calming face) and speak to a single person at a time during your speech. You’ll find that it’s easier trying to connect to one person at a time than a whole room.
With that said, being comfortable enough to be yourself in front of others may take a little time and some experience, depending on how comfortable you are with being yourself in front of others. But once you embrace it, stage fright will not be as intimidating as you initially thought.
Presenters like Barack Obama are prime examples of genuine and passionate speakers:
7. Post speech evaluation
Last but not the least, if you’ve done public speaking and have been scarred from a bad experience, try seeing it as a lesson learned to improve yourself as a speaker.
Don’t beat yourself up after a presentation
We are the hardest on ourselves and it’s good to be. But when you finish delivering your speech or presentation, give yourself some recognition and a pat on the back.
You managed to finish whatever you had to do and did not give up. You did not let your fears and insecurities get to you. Take a little more pride in your work and believe in yourself.
Improve your next speech
As mentioned before, practice does make perfect. If you want to improve your public speaking skills, try asking someone to film you during a speech or presentation. Afterward, watch and observe what you can do to improve yourself next time.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself after every speech:
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How did I do?
Are there any areas for improvement?
Did I sound or look stressed?
Did I stumble on my words? Why?
Was I saying “um” too often?
How was the flow of the speech?
Write everything you observed down and keep practicing and improving. In time, you’ll be able to better manage your fears of public speaking and appear more confident when it counts.
If you want even more tips about public speaking or delivering a great presentation, check out these articles too:
How to Give a Presentation Like a Pro
10 Tips for More Effective PowerPoint Presentations
Tricks to Deliver an Impressive Presentation Every Time
What Else Do You Want to Improve About Yourself?
Pick what you need most and get a custom guide for FREE to upgrade yourself:
Stop Procrastinating
Make My Goal Happen
Reach My Full Potential
Improve Focus
Reference
[1] ^ High Spark: 4 Ways to Establish Trust In Your Presentation or Sales Pitch
[2] ^ High Spark: Presentation Design Hacks: 5 Ways to Look Like a Pro Fast
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Date Someone Who Can Do These 10 Things To Make You Happy
Angelica shiels
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Date Someone Who Can Do These 10 Things To Make You Happy
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As a therapist who specializes in relationships, I can’t help but notice several skills and personality features that can make or break a relationship. No, this is not going to be an article about making sure to find a rich guy who likes to spoon or a hot girl who likes to watch football. These 10 skills are what makes couples feel satisfied, connected, and happy with each other regardless of their superficial characteristics. If you have a partner who can do all 10 of these, (and you can do them as well), you will have a very satisfying relationship:
1. Date someone who can delay gratification.
In other words, the ability to do an unpleasant thing instead of an enjoyable thing to achieve a more important benefit. Being in a healthy partnership means being able to suck it up and deal with all kinds of unpleasant things (embarrassment, vulnerability, taking out the trash, resisting acting on angry impulses, actively listening instead of playing video games, running a boring errand, etc.) for the sake of the other person and the sake of the relationship.
ADVERTISING
2. Date someone who can be present.
Relationships suffer when one or both partners is not able to engage at the moment with the other person. Of course, we are all busy and can’t exactly sit around staring at our partners quietly all day long, but the ability to genuinely listen to and focus on the other person at least a few times a week is important. If your significant other is unable to unplug, disconnect from distraction, and engage in interacting with you, this could lead to loneliness down the road. Also, people who can be present and attentive to one thing are excellent listeners, since they are simply in the moment focused on what the other person is saying.
3. Date someone who makes you feel emotionally safe.
Being “emotionally safe” with your significant other means that you are comfortable being vulnerable, making direct requests, and being yourself in his/her presence. If you have a partner who criticizes, is defensive, talks you out of your feelings (is invalidating), or is often annoyed or condescending toward you, you will eventually grow to feel “emotionally unsafe” in that relationship. Partners who feel emotionally unsafe feel disconnected and powerless at best, and depressed and miserable at worst. If your partner is open to hearing what you have to say (even when s/he does not like it), does not act defensive or critical of you, feels that your emotions are understandable, and considers your requests and desires, s/he can make you feel emotionally safe.
ADVERTISING
⌄ Scroll down to continue reading the article ⌄
Become Super Productive with The Full Life Planner
Grab your Full Life Planner to plan your day for maximum productivity and get more done in less time.
Get My Planner
⌄ Scroll down to continue reading the article ⌄
4. Date someone who can tolerate not being in control.
A healthy, happy relationship consists of two people who can tolerate the feeling of not being in control once in a while. This skill is required in many situations, from letting someone else choose the paint color for the bathroom, to letting someone else openly share feelings that can’t exactly be “fixed.”
5. Date someone who can take control when necessary.
Some people struggle with being responsible for decisions and actions. Whether it is calling the plumber when the sink is leaking, or resisting buying a new sofa because it isn’t in the budget, the ability to be “in charge” and “proactive” is a positive quality in a partner.
ADVERTISING
6. Date someone who knows and appropriately communicates his/her feelings.
Emotionally aware partners can pinpoint that they are feeling disrespected, ignored, or lonely instead of simply flying off in a reactive, non-constructive rage. If your partner is emotionally aware enough to understand his/her feelings, this is a good sign for your relationship.
7. Date someone who knows and appropriately communicates his/her needs.
If your partner can directly request his/her needs without criticism, yelling, passivity, aggression, or passive-aggression, this is a great sign. If your partner calmly makes specific requests for you to change a behavior without making you feel inadequate or inferior, you probably have a keeper on your hands.
ADVERTISING
8. Date someone who can be humble.
Humility is required during the process of forgiving someone else for their mistakes and during the process of asking for forgiveness from someone else. In a happy, healthy relationship, both people can abandon ego and pride when necessary.
9. Date someone who can tolerate emotional intimacy and togetherness.
In a happy, healthy partnership, both people are comfortable sharing emotions, thoughts, and needs. If a problem arises, they are comfortable discussing it instead of avoiding it and pretending it doesn’t exist. They share vulnerabilities, fears, successes, and life goals comfortably.
ADVERTISING
10. Date someone who can tolerate separateness.
The ability to tolerate separateness means that he/she is comfortable doing things on his/her own. And when you are doing things on your own, he/she is not texting or calling you constantly. Being able to be on your own once in a while without experiencing anxiety is a sign of security and trust.
What Else Do You Want to Improve About Yourself?
Pick what you need most and get a custom guide for FREE to upgrade yourself:
Stop Procrastinating
Make My Goal Happen
Reach My Full Potential
Improve Focus
Featured photo credit: Taliesin via morguefile.com
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MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Angelica shiels
Date Someone Who Can Do These 10 Things To Make You Happy
8 Practical Tips for Parents of Kids with ADHD
12 Ways To Teach Your Children The Skill Of Empathy
8 Things You Should Never Say to Your Spouse
The Best Thing a Parent Can do for a Highly Emotional Child.
TRENDING IN COMMUNICATION
1I Want To Be Happy: 7 Science-Backed Ways to Find Happiness
213 Ways Happy People Think and Feel Differently
310 Morning Habits Of Happy People
4What Makes People Happy? 20 Secrets of “Always Happy” People
513 Simple Habits of Happiness To Change Your Outlook on Life
READ NEXT
What is Turmeric? The Ultimate Guide To Tumeric
3 Steps to Get Rid of a Candida Overgrowth
How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Personal Goals
How To Relieve Stress And Restore Energy
ADVERTISING
COMMUNICATION
Last Updated on July 20, 2021
How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking (A Step-by-Step Guide)
Eugene Cheng
Eugene is Lifehack's Entrepreneurship Expert. He is the co-founder and creative lead of HighSpark, offering presentation training for companies. Read full profile
ADVERTISING
How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking (A Step-by-Step Guide)
Share
Pin it
Tweet
Share
You’re standing behind the curtain, just about to make your way on stage to face the many faces half-shrouded in darkness in front of you. As you move towards the spotlight, your body starts to feel heavier with each step. A familiar thump echoes throughout your body – your heartbeat has gone off the charts.
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one with glossophobia(also known as speech anxiety or the fear of speaking to large crowds). Sometimes, the anxiety happens long before you even stand on stage.
Your body’s defense mechanism responds by causing a part of your brain to release adrenaline into your blood – the same chemical that gets released as if you were being chased by a lion.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you overcome your fear of public speaking:
1. Prepare yourself mentally and physically
According to experts, we’re built to display anxiety and to recognize it in others. If your body and mind are anxious, your audience will notice. Hence, it’s important to prepare yourself before the big show so that you arrive on stage confident, collected, and ready.
“Your outside world is a reflection of your inside world. What goes on in the inside, shows on the outside.” – Bob Proctor
Exercising lightly before a presentation helps get your blood circulating and sends oxygen to the brain. Mental exercises, on the other hand, can help calm the mind and nerves. Here are some useful ways to calm your racing heart when you start to feel the butterflies in your stomach:
Warming up
If you’re nervous, chances are your body will feel the same way. Your body gets tense, your muscles feel tight or you’re breaking in a cold sweat. The audience will notice you are nervous.
If you observe that this is exactly what is happening to you minutes before a speech, do a couple of stretches to loosen and relax your body. It’s better to warm up before every speech as it helps to increase the functional potential of the body as a whole. Not only that, it increases muscle efficiency, improves reaction time and your movements.
Here are some exercises to loosen up your body before showtime:
ADVERTISING
Neck and shoulder rolls – This helps relieve upper body muscle tension and pressure as the rolls focus on rotating the head and shoulders, loosening the muscle. Stress and anxiety can make us rigid within this area which can make you feel agitated, especially when standing.
Arm stretches – We often use this part of our muscles during a speech or presentation through our hand gestures and movements. Stretching these muscles can reduce arm fatigue, loosen you up and improve your body language range.
Waist twists – Place your hands on your hips and rotate your waist in a circular motion. This exercise focuses on loosening the abdominal and lower back regions which is essential as it can cause discomfort and pain, further amplifying any anxieties you may experience.
Stay hydrated
Ever felt parched seconds before speaking? And then coming up on stage sounding raspy and scratchy in front of the audience? This happens because the adrenaline from stage fright causes your mouth to feel dried out.
To prevent all that, we must stay adequately hydrated before a speech. A sip of water will do the trick. However, do drink in moderation so that you won’t need to go to the bathroom constantly.
Try to avoid sugary beverages and caffeine, since it’s a diuretic – meaning you’ll feel thirstier. It will also amplify your anxiety which prevents you from speaking smoothly.
Meditate
Meditation is well-known as a powerful tool to calm the mind. ABC’s Dan Harris, co-anchor of Nightline and Good Morning America weekend and author of the book titled10% Happier, recommends that meditation can help individuals to feel significantly calmer, faster.
Meditation is like a workout for your mind. It gives you the strength and focuses to filter out the negativity and distractions with words of encouragement, confidence, and strength.
Mindfulness meditation, in particular, is a popular method to calm yourself before going up on the big stage. The practice involves sitting comfortably, focusing on your breathing, and then bringing your mind’s attention to the present without drifting into concerns about the past or future – which likely includes floundering on stage.
Here’s a nice example of guided meditation before public speaking:
2. Focus on your goal
One thing people with a fear of public speaking have in common is focusing too much on themselves and the possibility of failure.
⌄ Scroll down to continue reading an article ⌄
Become Super Productive with The Full Life Planner
Grab your Full Life Planner to plan your day for maximum productivity and get more done in less time.
Get My Planner
⌄ Scroll down to continue reading the article ⌄
Do I look funny? What if I can’t remember what to say? Do I look stupid? Will people listen to me? Does anyone care about what I’m talking about?’
Instead of thinking this way, shift your attention to your one true purpose – contributing something of value to your audience.
ADVERTISING
Decide on the progress you’d like your audience to make after your presentation. Notice their movements and expressions to adapt your speech to ensure that they are having a good time leaving the room as better people.
If your focus isn’t beneficial and what it should be when you’re speaking, then shift it to what does. This is also key to establishing trust during your presentation as the audience can see that you have their interests at heart.[1]
3. Convert negativity to positivity
There are two sides constantly battling inside of us – one is filled with strength and courage while the other is doubt and insecurities. Which one will you feed?
‘What if I mess up this speech? What if I’m not funny enough? What if I forget what to say?’
It’s no wonder why many of us are uncomfortable giving a presentation. All we do is bring ourselves down before we got a chance to prove ourselves. This is also known as a self-fulfilling prophecy – a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it already is. If you think you’re incompetent, then it will eventually become true.
Motivational coaches tout that positive mantras and affirmations tend to boost your confidence for the moments that matter most. Say to yourself: “I’ll ace this speech and I can do it!”
Take advantage of your adrenaline rush to encourage positive outcomes rather than thinking of the negative ‘what ifs’.
Here’s a video of Psychologist Kelly McGonigal who encourages her audience to turn stress into something positive as well as provide methods on how to cope with it:
4. Understand your content
Knowing your content at your fingertips helps reduce your anxiety because there is one less thing to worry about. One way to get there is to practice numerous times before your actual speech.
ADVERTISING
However, memorizing your script word-for-word is not encouraged. You can end up freezing should you forget something. You’ll also risk sounding unnatural and less approachable.
“No amount of reading or memorizing will make you successful in life. It is the understanding and the application of wise thought that counts.” – Bob Proctor
Many people unconsciously make the mistake of reading from their slides or memorizing their script word-for-word without understanding their content – a definite way to stress themselves out.
Understanding your speech flow and content makes it easier for you to convert ideas and concepts into your own words which you can then clearly conversationally explain to others. Designing your slides to include text prompts is also an easy hack to ensure you get to quickly recall your flow when your mind goes blank.[2]
One way to understand is to memorize the over-arching concepts or ideas in your pitch. It helps you speak more naturally and let your personality shine through. It’s almost like taking your audience on a journey with a few key milestones.
5. Practice makes perfect
Like most people, many of us are not naturally attuned to public speaking. Rarely do individuals walk up to a large audience and present flawlessly without any research and preparation.
Some of the top presenters make it look easy during showtime because they have spent countless hours behind the scenes in deep practice. Even great speakers like the late John F. Kennedy would spend months preparing his speech beforehand.
Public speaking, like any other skill, requires practice – whether it be practicing your speech countless times in front of a mirror or making notes. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect!
6. Be authentic
There’s nothing wrong with feeling stressed before going up to speak in front of an audience.
Many people fear public speaking because they fear others will judge them for showing their true, vulnerable selves. However, vulnerability can sometimes help you come across as more authentic and relatable as a speaker.
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Drop the pretense of trying to act or speak like someone else and you’ll find that it’s worth the risk. You become more genuine, flexible, and spontaneous, which makes it easier to handle unpredictable situations – whether it’s getting tough questions from the crowd or experiencing an unexpected technical difficulty.
To find out your authentic style of speaking is easy. Just pick a topic or issue you are passionate about and discuss this like you normally would with a close family or friend. It is like having a conversation with someone in a personal one-to-one setting. A great way to do this on stage is to select a random audience member(with a hopefully calming face) and speak to a single person at a time during your speech. You’ll find that it’s easier trying to connect to one person at a time than a whole room.
With that said, being comfortable enough to be yourself in front of others may take a little time and some experience, depending on how comfortable you are with being yourself in front of others. But once you embrace it, stage fright will not be as intimidating as you initially thought.
Presenters like Barack Obama are prime examples of genuine and passionate speakers:
7. Post speech evaluation
Last but not the least, if you’ve done public speaking and have been scarred from a bad experience, try seeing it as a lesson learned to improve yourself as a speaker.
Don’t beat yourself up after a presentation
We are the hardest on ourselves and it’s good to be. But when you finish delivering your speech or presentation, give yourself some recognition and a pat on the back.
You managed to finish whatever you had to do and did not give up. You did not let your fears and insecurities get to you. Take a little more pride in your work and believe in yourself.
Improve your next speech
As mentioned before, practice does make perfect. If you want to improve your public speaking skills, try asking someone to film you during a speech or presentation. Afterward, watch and observe what you can do to improve yourself next time.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself after every speech:
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How did I do?
Are there any areas for improvement?
Did I sound or look stressed?
Did I stumble on my words? Why?
Was I saying “um” too often?
How was the flow of the speech?
Write everything you observed down and keep practicing and improving. In time, you’ll be able to better manage your fears of public speaking and appear more confident when it counts.
If you want even more tips about public speaking or delivering a great presentation, check out these articles too:
How to Give a Presentation Like a Pro
10 Tips for More Effective PowerPoint Presentations
Tricks to Deliver an Impressive Presentation Every Time
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Reference
[1] ^ High Spark: 4 Ways to Establish Trust In Your Presentation or Sales Pitch
[2] ^ High Spark: Presentation Design Hacks: 5 Ways to Look Like a Pro Fast
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