How To NOT Get Nervous Speaking In Front Of People

By Perminus Wainaina 

Last week, I was invited to give a talk to professionals in a networking event. Caroline, who is an HR professional with five years’ experience, had also been invited to speak at the event.

When it was Caroline’s turn to speak, she hesitantly went to the stage. Throughout her presentation, she was shaky, her voice was cracking, and she looked nervous.

When I looked at some of the professionals, I noticed their attention had gone away from the speaker.

After the event, Caroline approached me. She wanted to know how she could improve her public speaking skills.

Quick Read>>> How To Be More Assertive And Confident At Work

When you think of public speaking, you might only consider one form of it –being at the stage addressing a group of people. But there are different forms of public speaking.

For example, when you’re in a meeting at your workplace, that is a form of public speaking. At a social ceremony too –such as a wedding, funeral and birthday party, is a form of public speaking. Even talking with your colleagues and friends, can all be considered as public speaking.

Public speaking is a skill like any other. What this means is with practice and targeted training, you can become an effective speaker.

To approach the question Caroline asked, let’s break it down to two stages. There’s what you do as you’re preparing, and then there’s what you do when you are addressing the audience.

Let’s start with the before part. What do you do to while you’re preparing for a public speaking event?

Read on to see how you can overcome being nervous when given the opportunity to speak.