Tips for
Presentation Confidence and
Reducing Nervousness
Poor Public Speaking Habits to Avoid
1.Don’t expect perfection from yourself.
None of us are
perfect. We all know that. Yet when it comes to public speaking, some
of us tend to kick ourselves over every little perceived mistake we make. We
magnify our imperfections, while ignoring all that’s good and well. The truth is,
even the best, most experienced speakers make many mistakes. When they do,
they recover, keep going gracefully, and all is well. This is one of the keys
to public
speaking success: to keep going gracefully. The audience will never know most
of your mistakes, unless you halt your speech, break down, and confess them.
Carry on with poise. Give yourself permission not to be perfect
2.
Avoid equating public speaking to your
self-worth.
If
you’re reading this article, you’re probably a successful professional who has worked
hard to get to where you are today. Public speaking is only a small part of
your overall professional ability. If you’re not confident at it, there are
many ways
to help you improve. I’ve seen otherwise intelligent and capable professionals
shrivel up on stage, as if suddenly nothing about them is right. Whether
you’re good at public speaking or not has nothing to do with your value as
a person. It’s simply a skill that you can learn and become better at with practice.
3.
Avoid being nervous about your
nervousness.
Singer-songwriter
Bruce Springsteen, legendary for his live concert performances,
once observed that if he felt completely relaxed before a show, he wouldn’t
perform as well as if he had felt nervous. Springsteen knows how to channel
his nervousness into excitement and power on stage. Speakers
who lack confidence often feel nervous, and then on top of that feel anxious
about the fact that they’re nervous, which compounds the anxiety. That’s
a lot of stress to bear. Nervousness
is our adrenaline flowing, that’s all. It’s a form of energy.Successful
speakers know how to make this energy work for them, and turn nervousness
into enthusiasm, engagement, and charisma. It’s okay to be nervous. Make the energy
work for you.
4.
Avoid trying to memorize every word.
Unless
you’re reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or your marriage vows, there’s no need
to memorize every word of any speech. Attempting to do so will simply increase
stress, and cause greater nervousness if the sequence of the words you’re
trying to memorize goes amiss.
5.
Avoid reading word for word.
Avoid
reading your presentation word for word from a script. There’s a big difference
between reading and speaking. Try reading disseminates information, often
at the risk of the audience tuning out. Speaking is creating an impact with your
content and personality, so that not only is your message understood, your professional
profile rises. People who read excessively from a script
effectively
reduce their chances of upward advancement.
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