Finding ways to conquer your fears is something you should view as a priority. Allowing your fears to take over can lead to you missing out on multiple opportunities.
The term glossophobia is used to describe the fear of public speaking. This fear is extremely common and affects up to 75 percent of the people in the United States.
There are a number of things that can compound your fear of public speaking. If you’re one of the millions of Americans that stutter, then your desire to speak in public might be severely diminished.
If you’re a person who stutters and you want to have a positive public speaking experience, consider the information below.
Adequately Preparing is Crucial
The prospect of standing in front of a crowd and expressing yourself with words can be very overwhelming.
If you’ve seen people speaking in public and they make this task look effortless, chances are they have spent a lot of time preparing.
You can’t start practicing your speech the night before and hope to have success. Putting in the work and adequately preparing is the key to public speaking success.
Practicing your speech over and over again can help you greatly. If you’ve memorized what you’ll say, then you will have a lower chance of getting nervous and stuttering.
Once you’ve memorized your speech, you need to think about things like projecting your voice and engaging with the audience.
Push Through the Adrenaline
The moment you step on stage, you will probably experience a sudden rush of adrenaline. Having this feeling is perfectly normal.
However, you need to avoid letting this sudden burst of adrenaline take your head out of the game. In some cases, this adrenaline rush might make your stutter worse.
Rather than getting hung up on stuttering during your speech, you need to push through and stay the course.
Taking a deep breath and focusing your attention on the task at hand can be extremely helpful. As your nerves start to settle down, you will have an easier time focusing on your speech and engaging with the crowd.
If you allow yourself to enjoy this public speaking experience, you can actually have a good time and make some great memories.
Think About Using Visual Aids
Stuttering is a problem that affects everyone differently. If your stutter makes it difficult for you to read aloud for long periods of time, then you need to find ways to give yourself a break during your speech.
Using visual aids is a great way to break up your speech and reduce the amount of time you have to spend reading.
Not only can visual aids help you limit talking time, they can also help the audience better understand the topic you’re covering.
Ideally, you want to create these visual aids well in advance. Creating an outline of when they will be used in the speech can help keep you on track.
Implementing these tips can help you overcome your fear of public speaking.