By: Brandon Sanchez

Do I need to cite a study to convince you that the most common lifetime social phobia is public speaking and performance? Odds are you have experienced this fear at one point in your life. It’s not only grand speeches or presentations; public speaking also presents in the form of answering questions from your peers during a work event, responding to client questions during a group meeting, or facilitating human conversations that, by nature, cannot be perfectly predicted.

These specific examples represent a constant in our world of change management, stakeholder engagement, and event preparation and facilitation, but one can also imagine sharing a celebratory toast at a wedding, speaking at a Parent Teacher Association meeting, or advocating for change in front of your local city council.

While there are many different techniques for conquering the anxiety of public speaking, Matt Abrahams, host of the “Think Fast, Talk Smart” podcast, which is dedicated to research-backed techniques for becoming a confident communicator, presented a straightforward set of steps to help with anxiety management as a foundation to more efficient public speaking:

Greet your anxiety.

Acknowledge your anxiety, take a moment to recognize the symptoms, and take a deep breath. This can keep the anxiety from spiraling and, instead, help you use it to your benefit. Anxiety can be our body’s way of telling us that what we are doing is important, and we can learn to direct its effects (which can include heightened senses and increased focus) in a helpful, rather than detrimental, manner.

Reframe a situation as a conversation.

Asking questions is an excellent way to engage your audience and turn a situation from feeling like it’s “me versus them” into an inclusive discussion.

Use conversational language.

Continuing with this technique of reframing a situation as a conversation, it’s also helpful to avoid language that can distance your audience. Abrahams encourages speakers to avoid using language like “one must consider the ramifications…” and instead suggests being more conversational. “We need to be concerned with” gets the same message across but with more inclusive, colloquial language.

Be present.

Worrying about future consequences robs us of the opportunity to bring ourselves into the present moment, and this can lead to more nervousness. Abrahams suggests various techniques to help center your mind, such as walking around a building, counting backward from 100, and so on. He compares this to athletes listening to music before a game to tune distractions and become present and focused.

Learning to manage your anxiety is a baseline skill that can be the foundation for additional techniques to improve your public speaking. Below are a few methods used by our Yellow Brick team that can further elevate your public speaking:

Sign up for an acting or improv class.

This may seem like an odd suggestion, but improvisation is all about thinking off the cuff, composing ideas quickly, and listening very carefully. William Shakespeare famously said, “All the world’s a stage”, and the rules of improv can also be good guidelines for life. One of the most prominent rules is to say “Yes, and” – a great tool for building and facilitating conversations rather than saying “no” or “but”, which risks distancing your audience rather than engaging and acknowledging their contributions to a conversation. Several of our strong public speakers at Yellow Brick have a background in acting or improvisation, and these skills continue to be exercised far beyond the original “skits”!

Practice, practice, practice.

While many speaking situations may be spontaneous, our professional settings often allow us to present on specific subjects with distinctive outcomes or objectives. In these situations, you can write out, practice, and refine your presentation or speech until you are satisfied with your performance. We recommend practicing in front of a mirror or recording yourself and identifying and working on areas for improvement.

Ask for feedback from a friend or trusted colleague.

It may not seem easy, but asking your colleague for feedback can be instrumental in helping ease your anxiety well before “showtime.” Practice your timing and inflection and get an additional perspective on your strengths and potential areas for improvement. With our Yellow Brick team, we often joke that presenting to our own team can be the most nerve-wracking! Instead of starting with multiple people, reach out to one of the colleagues you are most comfortable with, and you may find they will be happy to support you and may even ask you to return the favor.

Apprehension of public speaking and performing in front of others doesn’t necessarily go away with time – we just learn to use it as a strength!