Fear
The greatest concern is usually fear.
This is normal and it is a strange person that does not fear getting up in front of others and speaking. Yet there are things that you can do to make it easier to overcome your fears.
Good Surroundings
It is important to have supoortive positive people around you while learning such a personal life skill. Further you want to see others fluff their lines to know that you aren't the only one. risk shared is a risk halved. Try for a good mix of people.
|
A sensible timescale
No matter how quickly you can understand the various skills that you are learning, it will take time to internalise them. Consider balance on a bicycle. As a child you understood the issues but it took you some time until you got the feel of this skill.
|
A structured programme of development
Learn one new skill at a time - speech construction, suitable vocabulary, voice projection and so on. Concentrate on developing this one skill until you have the full range of understanding of the issues around it. Then move onto the next. |
Get outside yourself
You have spent a lifetime creating a protective barrier between your inner self and the one you project to others. Everyone, without exception, does this. You need to explore beyond this. One way is to pretent to be someone else - like an actor. As soon as you go against your normal pattern, alarm bells ring in your subconscious. However as this is a deliberate experiment on your part you can give yourself permission to try it. |
Practice
Possibly the greatest tool to help you against fear is counterintuitive - practice. Practice in your head on the way to work, practice on friends and loved ones, practice at work in low risk situations. Even one word said out loud to help or direct people is practice. |
Speak on what matters to you
You will find it so much easier to speak on something you really care about. This can range across the whole gamut of issues - world events to something from your presonal life. However if you care, you will have natural passion and from this you will have commitment which leads to confidence. |
Many more
There are many more tips to help with fear. You may not totally eliminate fear of getting up in front of others but you will reduce it to nothing more than mild butterflies in the stomach.
|
Background
There is an assumption that witn the UK public speaking is for white, educated, middle class people and that those outside of this group are at a disadvantage. All the evidence is against you here. There are great speakers from every conceivable background.
People are selfish and want to learn someting, to be entertained, to have their thoughts stimulated and possibly shaped in a positive way. Any speaker that can do this will be listened to.
Second Language
If you are new to English then there is another hill to climb. Yet I consider the person who spoke so eloquently about their experiences before coming to the UK. What was missing in actual words was more than made up for in body language, pauses and pace that allowed us to fill in the gaps, the obvious sincerity and emotion of the speaker.
We are all human beings and we are destined to relate to each other. As soon as we start to get to know someone as an individual we cannot fail to relate.
Getting up and speaking forces others to consider you as a person, an individual.
Conclusion
What eve your concerns are, do not yourself become a slave to them. With the right tools and the right support anyone can learn to speak well in public.
|
