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Overcoming the anxiety of communicating to a large number of people or to strangers is a huge challenge that has not been taught in most of our academic institutions. only the few of us have had an opportunity of being tutor on giving a speech, this therefore leaves most of us hanging out when it comes to overcoming stage fright.
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Effective communication is a valued skill, which every individual requires in other to make proper contributions in any society. If we look closely, we will notice that what every great leader has in common since antiquity, is the good speech ability. Name them. And so, we are often left to believe that effective communication skill is a talent only few possess, this article disagress with that, and will offer a way out, however, one needs to know why he or she develops stage fright.
Why you have stage fright…
In his book, ”How to talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime” Larry King, Exposes ”the fear of saying the wrong thing, or the right thing in the wrong way” as the main cause of stage fright. And so it is, that the more audience a person has, the more this fear increases. The good news is, such fear is irrational.
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Things to know…
Most great speakers were not born speakers, at one time of their lives, they did speech for the first time, and they had to face their fears with courage. Some felt the fear, even upto their fifth speech, but they are a testimony now, because, they never stop trying.
Principles to adopt…
You must be willing to learn about communication, and not assume you know. The good news is that, almost everything is learnable to almost anyone, so you must know this in your heart. A person is never born with all round knowledge and so must be eager to learn as a first timer, no matter your age or your occupation.
As Will Rodgers said “ Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects”
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So what are the steps to giving a successful speech without fright?
- What do you have to say?: Ask yourself, what do I have to say? If you had an attack to your life and the only place you can get people attention to the attacker was the microphone, wouldn’t you run immediately to the stage to announce that some guy is trying to kill you? Definitely you would, because of how crucial what you had to say was. You have to be wise, remember what Plato said?
”Wise Men speak because they have something to say: Fools because they have to say something”
Advanced Preparation: Giving yourself enough time to prepare takes away a large portion of your doubt. This includes properly researching on the subject for which one is to perform on, and properly preparing an outline to which one is to follow. Talking out aloud to oneself from a mirror, to friends or to pets helps you get better ready.
Honesty: if you haven’t done a speech before, why try to act like you were “Larry King” himself? If you are not conversant with big grammars why try to use them? Your listeners will know you faking it anyway.*** So, a person asks, what would you do, if you were caught without preparation to give a speech which you haven’t done before?***
The answer is Honesty, don’t pretend as if you were prepared or that you have done a speech before. Tell your audience, That you weren’t prepared for the speech, and that you are doing this for the first time and also, that your English is not very good. So they know now and any mistake made is well accepted. This puts you at ease.
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While in speech process…
Speak with your thoughts: Forget the audience, and have a clear picture of what you are talking about flowing through your mind. Just like writing, the words first comes in our minds, so is communication.
Be immersed in it: “Anything Goes”, reaching every corners in a speech allows your body to relax, take the speech to the zone in which you are most comfortable. Break little protocols and feel comfortable.
Focus on the Reason for the speech
Touch the point: Well, as a starter go straight to the point. There is no shame in delivering your message and leaving the spot immediately. Don’t attempt to coin a joke if you are not good at it, could lead to a disaster.
It is noteworthy, that effective public communication is a skill that can best be learnt in the act itself, hence by talking, one learns to talk. You must be willing to keep talking, because the more you do it the more you get better at it.
This steps have been well researched and practiced, If you find it helpful, please upvote and resteem for others to take advantage of.
Recommended Book for further reading: How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere, by Larry King
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