Is performance anxiety making you fear public speaking and worry about your career? Here's the one thing you should be thinking instead!
Let's face it: there are few things that cause more professional worry than the possibility of failing in a make-or-break pitch, speech, or presentation.
Of course, precious few speeches are that important. Even so, you DO remain concerned, don't you? The problem is, you're worrying about the wrong thing.
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The good news is, you can restructure your thinking so you're on the wavelength of successful speaking. Keep reading!
Part of the Problem: Your Glorious Brain
The glory of the human brain versus that of other mammals is our prefrontal cortex. That's the part that allows us to think and analyze in a way those other creatures can't. It's this section of the frontal lobe that gives us the executive control that's vital for business decisions. It also helps us plan how to deliver information effectively to audiences.
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But doing so isn't really at the heart of public speaking. What we need to do there is really a simple task. We just happen to complicate it, in two important ways. First, we remain stuck in our Big Brain, when it's time to leave the control panel and simply have a talk with listeners. And second, we focus on how we're doing instead of how the audience is getting along.
Stage Presence Means Being Present!
As in any job, everything becomes easier when we stop overcomplicating things and develop a simplicity of goal and a proper focus. For public speaking, that means avoiding those two things I mentioned above: putting information delivery over connecting with audiences, and a crippling concern about how well we're performing.
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Just as in acting (my other career), a concern with giving a good performance will always doom you to giving a bad one. If there's an audience involved—any kind of audience—it means that they matter, and you don't. The question you need to ask yourself to get into this frame of mind is also simple: are attendees better off as a result of your performance? Not are you better off—but them. In other words, have you made a positive difference in their lives?
Like any other speaker, you can only do this when you're present. That means paying attention to listeners' responses and adjusting what you're saying (and how you're saying it) accordingly. It doesn't matter if you're speaking in person or virtually. You can practice your head off, but if you can respond dynamically in the moment of contact between you and your audience, you will not only succeed with that talk. You'll be an exciting speaker.
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Your Only Concern Should Be Your Audience
You can see from the above why there's only one legitimate worry for you when you're delivering a speech: what's going on with the audience. The more experienced you become at public speaking, the more you'll be able, just like an actor, to get a sense of an audience's responses and then respond accordingly yourself.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. The instant you break your Big Brain fever and stop stepping outside yourself to judge how you're doing, is when you occupy the moment that's been waiting for you to arrive. You're right here, and the audience is right there, and you're discussing a topic both of you are interested in. If that's where your head is, you may find yourself wondering what there was for you to be worried about.
After all, it's called giving a speech. Give the gift, and enjoy every moment of doing so.
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Gary Genard is an actor, author, and expert in public speaking and overcoming speaking fear. His company, The Genard Method offers live 1:1 Zoom executive coaching and corporate group training worldwide. He is the author of the Amazon Best-Seller How to Give a Speech. His second book, Fearless Speaking, was named in 2019 as “One of the 100 Best Confidence Books of All Time.” For nine consecutive years, he was ranked by Global Gurus as one of The World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals, and he has been named as one of America's Top 5 Speech Coaches. His handbook for presenting in videoconferences, Speaking Virtually offers techniques for developing virtual presence. He is also the author of Speak for Leadership: An Executive Speech Coach's Secrets for Developing Leadership Presence. His latest book is The Confidence Book: 75 Ways to Reduce Your Anxiety, Let Go of Your Fears, Change Your Negative Thinking, and Perform At Your Professional Best. He is also the creator of The Dr. William Scarlet supernatural thrillers. Contact Gary here.
Anxious photo: TheDigitalArtist on Pixabay.
