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R.I.P. Public Speaking Fears! – Part 3

Written by Bernie

Bernie Frazier, SPHR is the Founder and President of CAREERCompass, LLC, a speaking and career coaching firm in St. Louis, MO. She also spent almost 25 years recruiting talent to six organizations across four industries and led the talent acquisition function for four of those organizations, including one global team.

In my last two posts I’ve shared eight great tips with you to turn your public speaking fears into triumphs. Have you read them? If not, click on the links below to read parts 1 and 2:

Part 1: https://careercompassllc.com/r-i-p-public-speaking-fears-part-1/

Part 2: https://careercompassllc.com/r-i-p-public-speaking-fears-part-2/

Today, I’m wrapping up my third and final installment of R.I.P. Public Speaking Fears! with the final four tips I want to share with you:

  1. Use humor. I’ve learned that using appropriate humor at certain times can really make a difference regarding audience engagement. Now, this is not to say you need to become the “class clown,” but placing a quick quip at select places during your presentation can refocus, energize, or even move your audience to act. Humor lands with your audience best when you use clean jokes, make sure your humor is in context with your topic or the point you want to make, and when you know your audience (importance of asking good questions about your audience prior to if you don’t know them!). Humor can also be used as a way to begin your talk; it can bring about immediate engagement.
  2. Tell stories, especially yours. Even if you see audience members drifting away, sharing a real story always brings them back. The best stories to share are your personal experiences – whether something you did or that happened to you, or something you witnessed personally. Using your stories also helps the audience relate to you better when they know you have also experienced what they may be experiencing or feeling.
  3. Don’t overload your slides. Have you ever witnessed a presentation and there was so much activity on the presentation slide you didn’t know where to focus? What usually happens? We begin tuning out, right? If you don’t want this, make sure to use your slides to highlight key points, not tell the complete story.
  4. Make eye contact with the audience. A great way to make your audience feel a part of your presentation is to make good eye contact with them. The goal is not to stare, or single 1-2 people out to focus your gaze, but to move your glance around the room, stopping to make 2-3 seconds of contact at a time. This lets your audience know you see them.

I hope at this point, you’re breathing a sigh of relief because you now realize you’ve put waaaay too much pressure on yourself. By implementing a few simple tips from my posts, you can begin to feel more confident, relaxed, and ready to go.

From now on, turn the speaking pressure valve down on yourself, get up on stage, and have fun. Remember, you got this!

Happy speaking!

Until next time….