Out of all the fears that people have, public speaking is by far the worst, exceeding that of death, heights, tax authorities, and many other common phobias.
However, performing on stage can easily be done, provided that those afraid of it focus on fixing certain aspects of their psyche.
Prophet TB Joshua used his own personal power to get over stage fright, and now he performs in front of thousands of people a night as part of the ministry events that SCOAN conducts around the world every year.
By committing the following tips to memory, you can make this the year that you get over your fear of public speaking.
1) Focus on your cause
Much of the fear behind public speaking comes from an excessive focus on yourself, and how others are perceiving you.
In order to disempower your fears, focus solely on the cause that you are championing instead of visualizing how your audience would react if you screwed up.
By focusing on your mission, you will quell any selfish thoughts of how a sub-par performance would affect your ego, as they will be replaced by thoughts on how to persuade the people you are speaking to to the nobility of your cause.
2) Visualize a positive outcome
The power of visualization should not be ignored by those looking to banish their stage fright. By visualizing how the perfect speech would go, you will subconsciously remember the things that you need to do in order to achieve that outcome.
Conversely, if you focus on how a disaster of a presentation would go, your mind will subconsciously sabotage your efforts.
By focusing on your strengths and how you can leverage them to have a great talk, chances are good that this will be the outcome that will occur.
3) Calm your mind before going on stage
You may be nervous before getting up on stage in front of your audience; know that this is normal and that plenty of presenters before you have gone through a similar case of the pre-talk butterflies.
Adopt their best practices by going through a series of calming exercises before beginning your performance: Breathe in deeply, meditate, practice yoga and go through other relaxation exercises in the minutes leading up to your talk.
By doing this, you will be preparing your body to give an engaging talk rather than one that is forced and filled with stress.
4) Know that the audience wants you to succeed
One of the worst mental images that people afraid of public speaking create for themselves is one where the audience is actively hostile, one where they are rooting for them to fail.
The opposite couldn’t be more true, as the people looking up to you from the audience want you to succeed, as they are looking for the knowledge and inspiration that you can provide them.
By thinking of them as friends rather than enemies that can’t wait to tear you down, you will be setting yourself up for a great talk before you utter a single word.
5) Give up trying to be perfect
To be completely honest, perfect is a lie. Outside of rigorously defined fields such as logic and mathematics, ‘perfect’ is an amorphous concept that is entirely subjective and therefore, is a false destination that you will never reach.
Instead, strive to be a better person than you were the day before. By identifying areas where you can improve in your public speaking and then applying it to rehearsals and talks that occur in the ensuing weeks and months, your focus will be applied to your technique rather than your fears.
