One of my fear is public speaking and I know it is important for a project manager so I need your help and guidance to overcome this fear. Thanks

Every act of greatness is the result of constant effort, dedication, struggle and belief. Great leaders have a very strong belief system in everything that they do. This is the reason that great leaders are also great speakers. So, the first step to being a great leader and a speaker is to have a strong inner belief system of knowledge, facts, vision, intuition and attitude.

Here's the list of steps of the ladder to be a good public speaker:

1) Build A Strong Belief System: As I said earlier, a strong belief system is the result of a lot of factors that take time and effort to develop. For example, take knowledge. Speaking is a form of imparting some knowledge. And knowledge comes not just from knowing some facts and figures. It comes from understanding the viewpoint of others. This is the real form of knowledge that you should seek. Then take vision, which is a form of an inner source of sense of direction. Next, comes attitude. Attitude is just about choosing to live your life a certain way that suits your inner desires and purposes in life (that’s the big picture). Now think of it from the perspective of giving a great speech. Every great speech can be imagined as a journey. A journey where knowledge is knowing the path turn by turn. Vision is knowing where to go and what to achieve. Attitude is wanting to travel it the way you want i.e slow, fast or steady your choice.

2) Work On Your Presentation Skills: You can use the following tips:

Don’t talk right away and speak clearly and slowly
Make eye contact with audience members one by one
Omit nervous gestures by trying to turn them into excitement
Work on framing your conversations by clarifying your intentions from the start
Memorize the points and not the presentation
Try to balance your focus on the topic and the audience
Practice in front of a mirror at least 3 times before the final take

3) Authenticity is Key to Great Presentation: It’s time to let go off of rules and improvise a little bit. Following rules is great and some of them are imperative (like those mentioned above), but being creative and innovative can take you a lot more places, than always following out a laid out path. So, remember the key phrase: Great presenters make their own rules.

Think of public speaking like playing a sport where you have to practice over and over again. And a time will come when you will not think about the people shouting at you from the stands or people making cheerful gestures, or someone hopeful waiting for a brilliant shot, but just thinking: this is how I use my bat every time I am on the field and things will come naturally.

Also check out my presentation on 11 wonderful tips to overcome your fear of public speaking: https://www.slideshare.net/VartikaKashyap3...blic-speaking-1

Hello,

Just go for it. Maybe a whiskey before and ready to go :-)
Cheers

that is a very big problem, you know i am chinese, i had learned english about ten years, but i can't talk with foreigner,because i think i will lose face always. i can't step the first way to speak, but i need to solute the question, i should accept the challenge, so i get a job need use english and urge myself learn english everyday, and there will be some foreiger visite my company. i think if u choose a way and there no route of retreat. u will be strongest than anytime. that is my opinion.

Hi Mahalmadane,

To this day, I get nervous before I talk. I found that getting rid of my notes and acknowledging that I am nervous worked for me. Did you know that Sir Richard Branson admitted to having a fear of public speaking? Yes, it's true. Also, when I speak at engagements I've found that when I focus on my own lessons learned from things I failed at to what I learned from my grandmother, allowed me to connect better with the audience.


I got involved with Toastmasters and I usually avoid caffeine and eating heavy meal before I speak and I make sure to get plenty of rest the night before.

My best advice to you, "Don't be so hard on yourself. Don't overthink things and just try to have fun engaging with your audience.

I hope this helps you.