I remember when I first realized how intense of a fear I had of public speaking. It was May of my junior year of high school, and I was running for the captain of the Gold Aerobics team. I won’t get into what exactly “Gold Aerobics” is, as it is hard to explain and extremely specific to my small, all-girls Catholic high school on Long Island, but know it felt like a very big deal at the time. I spent days making a trifold presenting reasons I would be a good captain and practicing my speech on my mother countless times.
Then the morning finally came for me to present to three of the school’s administrators. I remember walking down the hallway for what felt like years– my heart pounding, unable to hear anything besides my own mild hyperventilation. I finally made it to the classroom and in front of the teachers, when I realized I was physically shaking, every time I spoke my voice was shaking uncontrollably, I was mumbling and stumbling over all of my words, and I was struggling to breathe.
Needless to say, I was never the Gold Aerobics captain– which was definitely for the best, and I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. Following this experience, I brushed it off and blamed it on my nerves, not my lack of public speaking skills.
It was when I got to Holy Cross I finally had to face the fact that I now had to tackle this fear of public speaking. Over my two years at the College, I have had to be a discussion leader in multiple classes and give various presentations. I have not yet mastered public speaking, even though I fully intend to by the end of my time here, but I have come up with some tips and tricks that have begun to help me.
The first thing I would tell someone with the same fear as me is this– in the nicest way possible, it’s completely irrational. When you really begin to think about it, realistically, how many people in the audience are listening to your speech or presentation? I would argue less than 10% listen to the entire thing, 80% listen every couple of minutes then mentally check out, and the other 10% have their mind on a completely different topic.
My second piece of advice would be to remember that you are the one presenting. You are in control of what you want to say, so talk about what you understand or are most passionate about. Also remember that you most likely know more about the topic you are presenting than the audience, so even if you don’t really know what you’re talking about, nobody needs to know that. Fake it till you make it!
Finally, try to box breathe. Box breathing is a breathing exercise where you inhale for four seconds, hold the inhale for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, then hold the exhale for four seconds. Do not allow yourself to spiral before you have to publicly speak– box breathe and take your mind somewhere else!
I hope some of my experience has given you some perspective or the tips have helped! At the very least, remember that you are not alone and that a fear of public speaking is very common. The only way to improve is to face it and practice, so happy public speaking!