I Speak…

People make mistakes in presentations every single day of the week. It’s nothing new. But why do these mistakes happen? What constitutes poor public speaking? I’ve put together a list of reasons that may tell the story of why a speech may have gone wrong, or a presentation may have fallen on deaf ears… Let’s take a look at the list, shall we?

Poor Breathing Habits Mean Poor Speaking

Have you been trained as a singer or stage actor? If you haven’t, the chances are good that you’re unaware of the best method of breathing for speech. Public speaking requires a larger reservoir of air, for instance, than breathing for life. Equally important, your exhalation needs to be more controlled so you can sustain vocalized sound to the ends of phrases, where the most important words usually reside. Diaphragmatic breathing is the key. It’s also an important method of calming your galloping heart during fear of public speaking, and of course for keeping you from audibly gasping for air when you run out of breath due to nervousness—a huge no-no when making a public presentation.

Are You Self-Conscious?

This is probably the most frequently named reason people feel performance anxiety while speaking. It’s very common for a speech coach to hear: “I’m fine talking to small groups. But when it’s a large audience, I get really anxious.” Remember that the people in a sizable audience are exactly the same ones you talk to individually, and try to concentrate on having a conversation with your listeners. You’ll be at your best in every way.

Fear of Appearing Nervous

You may fear that you’ll look fearful on stage. With that in mind, you may make a leap of poor faith and tell yourself that once the audience notices your nervousness, everyone will realize you don’t really know your topic. Of course, the two aren’t linked at all. For instance, if you see that a speaker is nervous, what do you think? It’s probably sympathy—and with that sympathy, the audience will work with you.

Are They Judging Me?

The tough love message concerning this fear of public speaking is that people really don’t care about you. They’re in the audience to get something out of your appearance. They truly would like their time to have been well spent in coming to see you. You can also console yourself with the knowledge that watching a speaker fail is embarrassing for all who see it. With that in mind, you can be assured that the audience is actually rooting for you.

Failure in the Past Means Failure in the Present

Public speaking anxiety is often a side effect of learned behavior. You failed at some point in an important or high-profile speaking situation, and the seed of failure was planted. Of course, if you know your stuff and have done your research, there’s absolutely no reason something that happened once in the past will occur ever again. Not, that is, unless you tell yourself it will and subconsciously get ready for it. Plan to succeed instead. Always look for success, rather than failure.

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