Speech Anxiety Conquer Checklist
to Stay Competitive

Speech anxiety tips on how to overcome your fear of public speaking phobia while perfroming and in the question and answer feedback session because more people are afraid of being involved in talking in the open area than they are of dying. If you ask most people what they would rather do, they would likely tell you that they would rather do anything then have to speak out. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who have to give oratories ... 

Some sort of a queasy feeling in the stomach is very common. People who would otherwise have no problem speaking to two or three people start having problems when asked to speak to a large group.

Part of the problem is just the nervousness of standing up in front of all those people. Another part of the problem is the worry that you will have to deal with difficult people, during and after your speaking presentation in for example a Question and Answer feedback session.

Here are several techniques to help you deal with and conquer your speech anxiety. A checklist. Some of them you can do right before your oral while preparing minutes before you enter the stage, others you can practice in accompaniment with shaping the speech topics in the days prior to your performance on the podium:

1. Breathe.
When you get anxious, start taking short shallow breaths. That will make you feel light-headed, dizzy and sweaty. When you slow down your breathing and breathe from the diaphragm not only will you stop those feelings but you will sound more confident.

Before you get on stage to give your lecture try this: square breathing. Take a deep breath in for the count of 5 or 10, hold it for the same, breathe out for the same and hold it for the same count.

The deep breathing will calm you down and ease your speech anxiety immediately. During your presentation take a deep breath at the end of every thought or paragraph. You will sound more confident, in control and more powerful.

2. Slow down.
The breathing exercise leads into the next tip. When you get nervous people start talking faster and in a higher pitch. When you notice this happening force yourself to slow down and take a breath.

Taking a pause to breath will also let you emphasize points better. Your authority will grow, because it looks like you have anything in control.

3. Practice.
The biggest fear that people have when it comes to having the heebie-jeebies is that they are going to make a fool of themselves. But: making a mistake happens.

Do the test. See these fear of public speaking statistics for more on this.

If you do make a mistake just take it in stride or turn it into a joke. To help keep yourself from making mistakes only practice several times in the days leading up to your task.

But do not over-practice it. Don not go over it more than 3 times a day, otherwise you might trip yourself up too.

4. Find out the worst thing that could happen.
If you mess up driven by speech anxiety what could happen? Are they immediately going to fire you?

Will they run you out of town on a rail? No. Of course not! Silly thoughts.

Come up with the most absurd ideas you can. The more absurd they are the funnier they are, and they will help you relax. What can really happen is much less worse than what you can imagine!

5. Don't put the pressure on yourself.
No one has ever given the perfect dithyramb. Everyone has messed up sometimes.

They will forgive you if you make a mistake on any of your speech ideas ...

These techniques can help you deal with your speech anxiety and help you give a much better address. Another part of anxiety over public speaking is what are you going to do with someone who gives you a hard time. Dealing with difficult people is especially important if you are give a presentation and will have people participating.