Public speaking. Is there anything most of us ordinary folk dread more? Be it in the classroom, church, or any other forum, getting in front of crowd and talking for a lot of us is like going through the Seventh Ring of Hell. The Roman orator Cicero, speaking some 2,000 years ago, said: "The better qualified a person is to speak, the more the person fears the difficulty of speaking."
Nervousness, speech anxiety, stage fright, platform panic and blackout -- they are lurking about all the time. But these problems can be overcome or, at the very least, reduced.
The first thing to understand is that fear is a natural and normal human 'negative' emotion. The purpose of negative emotions is to tell us that something isn't quite right; an indication that we need to take some kind of action.
In the case of fear, the message is 'danger'. While we are born with fear of loud noises and fear of heights 'pre-wired' in our nervous systems, all other fears are learned from experience, whether real or imagined. Learned fear is an important survival mechanism, but just occasionally the wires get crossed and we learn a fear response for something inappropriate, like appearing in front of others, and performance anxiety can develop.
But just as we can learn a behavior, we can unlearn it, rather easily.
Now, for most of my adult life, I've been a portrait photographer. I've photographed people from all walks of life. Movie stars, strippers, rock bands, waitresses, whathaveya. In many ways it's ironic that I do what I do. Because I am painfully shy. Especially when it comes to girls.And yet, I'm not shy when I take photographs.
So what's the difference between the real me and the photographer me? Preparation.
See, the reason most people have performance anxiety or fail at a performance is because the situation is something that they never imagined themselves being in.
So the first key to being a good public speaker is to imagine yourself being in that situation. If you can't imagine yourself speaking in front of a crowd and actually enjoying it, you'll never be able to do it. This is what is called visualization and it is a very important part of the process. After you have finished your speech, it is good to practice aloud a couple of times just hear how it sounds. But to really learn to deliver your speech, it is even better to visualize it in you head.
Visualization is a form of daydreaming. It is daydreaming with a purpose. When you daydream about something, your brain considers it to be just as real as a real event. The more you daydream/visualize about a situation, the more comfortable your brain will become with the idea of giving a speech.
I cannot stress this enough, daydreaming/visualization is 100 times better than practicing aloud. The more you visualize how you will perform while giving a speech; the more you visualize how the crowd will react to your speech; the more likely the events you imagine will transpire.
Weird right? But I'm telling you it works.
Now, visualization is about 90% of the battle. But there are some other things you can do to enhance your performance abilities.
The first thing to do is to have a "Persona Sheet",this is a list of the qualities and characteristics that you want your audience to perceive when you speak. ,Now some people have a natural sense of their public persona. Some don't. Whether or not you have a sense of your public self, it is a good idea to put on paper who you are when you speak, and to give it a name.
For example, the name my thing is called: Friday Supanova. Silly I know, but it works.
Think of the Public You as the Super You, the Batman to your Bruce Wayne. I know that sounds silly, but if you don't who you are when you walk to the microphone your audience won't either.
Here is an example of Persona Sheet:
* When Friday Supanova takes photographs he is:
- Funny
- Charming and quite the flirt.
- He makes everyone feel comfortable.
- He knows how to make women feel sexy.
- He always says thank you and please.
- He never wastes people time.
- He makes decisions calmly and confidently.
- He's the black James Bond-- super suave and super cool.
- He's always in control.
- He never yells or loses his temper.
- And he always gets the shot.
Think about it: Bill Clinton sitting on the toilet is just some guy named Bill. But put Bill Clinton in front of an audience or a camera and he becomes "The Big Dog." Define your inner Big Dog and put it all on paper.
The next thing you can do enhance your public performance is have a catchprase. For example, when I shoot the one thing that keeps me confident throughout a photo shoot is this: "I always get the shot."
Even when things are going badly I'll find myself saying: "I don't know why you're worrying, you always get the shot." And then I'm like, "Oh yeah, I always get the shot." And I do.
See, what you are creating is a self-fufilling prophecy. if you go into public speaking situation thinking "I suck at public speaking." You're gonna suck. But if you go in thinking, "I always win the crowd."
Or "I always drive 'em wild!" Or "I always knock 'em dead." More than likely that's what is gonna happen!
All it takes is for your self-fufilling prophecy to come true just once, once for your mind to believe that that is actually the case!
Trust me, have a catchphrase. It helps immensely.
Because the Public You is the Super You, the Batman to your Bruce Wayne-- you need to have an article of clothing or jewelry that is a signal to your brain that you are now becoming your public persona.
For example, the thing that signals that I am swittching from Friday Durdikova the ordinary guy, to Friday Supanova the fashion photographer is this: a black Nike arm band.
That's my trigger. I slip the arm band on, I snap it against my skin and I say, "I'm Friday Supanova, and I always get the shot." And that's when everything changes.
Find something special to wear, something that makes you ,feel special, and the only time you ever wear it is when you are to become your public persona. Think of it like Batman's utility belt. Bruce Wayne doesn't wear the utility belt. Only Batman does right? Same concept here. Find a thing that makes you feel your inner Batman.
Now the next thing you can do, is a yoga technique called Clown Face Stretch. You'll want to do this somewhere private before, but this stretch is one of the most soothing things you can do.
The Clown Face Stretch
Open your mouth as wide as you can, then stick your tongue out as far as you can whille simulateously rolling your eyes up. Repeat up to 5x. This releases tension from all of your face muscles. Do not repeat more than 5x or it will make you drowsy.
Another technique you can do while performing is make "Z" eye moments. That is, using eye movements slowly trace the letter "Z". Draw a forward Z and then a backwards Z to this beat: "dah-dah-dah." What this does is it locks you into the visual zone, and once you are there you basically will go in to a state where:.
* You don't think.
* Where there is is no self-talk or self-doubt..
* Where there is no cognition..
* Where your mind is a blank..
Trust me, do the Zs they really work..
So there you go, do those things, and you'll become a more effective and confident public speaker. As you go to talk about your cause, remember one thing: you are one bad-ass motherfucker and you have the power to change the world. Use your power well.