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Are you frightened of speaking in public? You’re not alone. Being nervous isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you harness it, you can have access to a pool of energy to help you perform at your best. The problem arises when you are so nervous that it inhibits your ability to function and remember what you were going to say.

In this article we look at tips for overcoming your fear of public speaking being (1) smile (2) learn from your mistakes and (3) use a visual memory technique.

Tip 1: Smile

Pull your shoulders back, breathe deeply, hold your chin up and paste a huge smile on your face. Try it now. It is impossible to feel either down or nervous while you are doing this. Hold that pose when you walk up to the podium to begin your presentation and you will feel much better. You will find that the bigger and the sillier the grin that you paste on your face, the more difficult it is to feel any negative emotion.

One of the secrets presenters learn early on is that the audience ends up in exactly the same emotional state as the presenter. So if you look like you are happy and having a good time, that is how the audience will feel too.

Tip 2: There Is No Such Thing As Failure, Just Feedback

Every presenter has made mistakes. The key is to learn from them and not repeat them in future presentations. I have:

• Been told I speak too fast – so I slowed down the speed of my delivery.
• Told a joke that has fallen flat. It was a joke about lawyers to an audience of lawyers – so I no longer tell jokes about a profession to the profession I am talking to.
• Been disrespectful about someone and not realised they were in the audience – so I don’t do that anymore.
• Been flippant and had my comment taken seriously – so I don’t do that anymore.

From each of these mistakes, I have learned and changed the way I do things to ultimately become the presenter that I am today. Some of these mistakes are things that I look back on and I feel appalled that I made them, but in my inexperience I knew no better. The whole aim of gaining experience is to make mistakes and improve.

It is unrealistic to think you can start presenting and not make mistakes. Even today after 20 years of presenting I still sometimes make a mistake. The difference now is that I can recover from them more quickly than I used to.

Tip 3: Use A Visual Memory Technique

There are visual memory techniques you can use to remember presentations. I have used them myself for presentations running as long as 3 days. When you forget where you are up to, you quickly close your eyes (to the audience it looks like a long blink), look at your visual memory stack and remember where you are up to. There are people who will teach you how to do these.

In effect it is as simple as making up a story book picture in your head about your presentation and then remembering where in the story you are up to.

I have successfully used each of these tips to help me while giving presentations. I trust they will help you too.

As a speaker or company leader you will, at some time, be asked to appear on the radio. It may be the taping of a panel discussion. It may be a one-on-one interview about a topic for which you have expertise. It may be to answer some questions that have been asked about your business and/or one of your products. For whatever reason you are going to be heard over the air, you will want to sound polished, professional and knowledgeable. In this article, I discuss some of the ways to make it happen.

Remember that the radio audience can’t see you, so your voice, pacing, and words are all important. When we are presenting to an audience or leading a meeting, we have the benefit of our physiology — our breathing, eye contact, physical appearance, and movement. Recently, I listened to the taping of a panel discussion that had been presented by several of the leaders of IT (Information Technology) in our region. It was disappointing. The speakers, even though all are intelligent men, spoke so quickly and without any tonal variety, they were difficult to follow. It took all of my energy to stay focused on what they were saying.

Be prepared. The more prepared you are for any presentation, the more smoothly it will progress and the more professional you will appear. If you are going to be interviewed about a topic or happening, type out a list of questions that you feel your interviewer will ask, or you would like him or her to ask. When I have appeared on the radio, I have handed the person interviewing me a sheet of questions I would like to be asked, for which they are usually quite thankful. Then, there are few or no surprises for either of you. Of course, you are prepared with answers to those questions.

What if I am asked difficult or uncomfortable questions? It is necessary to be honest with our answers, but if someone asks a question that is damaging or confrontational, you don’t have to be so honest that your answer harms you and/or your business. If some of the questions are political and/or confrontational, avoid saying anything harmful to others or yourself.

If at all possible, try to inject some humor and lightness. Even if your topic is serious, make an effort to lighten up. This will help give you a “human” quality. A program is made palatable and more interesting to listeners by the addition of some light banter and laughter.

Avoid rambling. In an unfamiliar situation it is easy to be nervous and when we are nervous, we have a tendency to ramble. Remember to stick to the point, say what you have to say as succinctly as possible, and stop talking. Make sure, however, that you do get a chance to say the words that you feel are relative to the interview and/or presentation.

Know what your most important points are and be sure that you state them. I suggest having those answers that you feel are the most important written down on a 3 X 5 card, and even if you are not directly asked the questions you want to be asked, work those points into the conversation. Otherwise, the interview may be over without your achieving your reason for being on the radio in the first place.

Even though this can be serious business, it can also be fun and offer a big boost to you, your business, and your career. Enjoy it!