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

Everytime my lips move to communicate, regardless of it being in private or public I think of it as having a conversation. When you are having a conversation, you don't panic because you speak of what you know.

I take this approach to teaching, training or presenting in public. Before i go out there to speak, I do my homework about what i am presenting, i have an agenda and i try to follow it. The primary thing to remember is that you are the subject matter expert (SME) and all these people have come to hear what you have to say.

They are not there to necessarily judge you, but to learn a thing or two. I like to put my audience at ease, so i mostly start my presentations with a punchline. Funny or not, it reduces the tension. Be your authentic self, whether good or bad, just learn your material and be in a position to help anyone who may have questions.

Depending on the number of people, if i have 10 or less, i try to make it informal. I can ask them to interrupt me if i am speaking too fast or ask a question before moving on. With a larger crowd, i find that having an agenda, spelled out with house-keeping rules on saving questions till after i am finished presenting works.

Like most people have suggested, practice and know your material. If you are not smooth at first, it comes later with presenting material more often and you will achieve your pace.

Steps to remember -
Thank everyone for coming.
Speak at your normal pitch and pace yourself.
Prepare your listeners to what you are going to share.
Let them know what is included and what is excluded.
Let them know the house-keeping rule if any (especially useful if you are training a class).
Check in to see if they are still engaged.
If you are using PowerPoint, emphasis a main thought per slide.
Ask leading questions (if appropriate).
Let them know you transitioning from one topic to another.
When you finish, field questions.

Lastly, don't ever forget to thank everyone for joining in.

Mr Tour'e just search for local Toastmaster chapter will help you to overcome your fear of public speaking.
Few tips; Prepare for your speech, don't memorize and start with small audience

I've found proper preparation is important, that and practicing in a mirror before the event starts. If I have all my ducks in a row, I have reviewed the material and know it well, and have practiced my speech numerous times before giving it, it makes it much easier than just winging it.

Toastmasters is a great place to practice and get encouraging feedback. From my early days of getting used to speaking in public I remember two things, the first is to look for opportunities to practice and secondly to think of speaking to a group and the same as speaking to each person on a one to one basis - that is how they are listening to you. Bon courage.