You CAN Succeed at Public Speaking—Here’s How

You CAN Succeed at Public Speaking–Here’s How

Isabelle Prebe

02/20/2024

It’s almost time to enroll for the autumn 2024 semester, and you’re likely thinking about what classes you want to take. If you’re like me, you might start shaking in your boots when you realize public speaking is required for your major. Public speaking is a critical skill for those aspiring to work in PR, but it is also one of the top three fears in the US.

However, I got through my public speaking course last semester, and I felt more confident than I’d ever been before. I’m not dreading my final presentations so much this year! That’s something I never thought I’d say as someone with terrible anxiety. But I delivered my final speech for my public speaking class with confidence, and I want to share some of the things that helped me. Here’s how you can ace that speech or presentation and adapt your speaking to our ever-changing, increasingly digital world.

What I Did to Prepare:

By familiarizing yourself with your speech and speaking in front of others, you can be less nervous when giving your speech. Here are the tips that helped me prepare:

Start practicing a week or so before you need to give your speech.
Read your speech repeatedly. It can be daunting to memorize an entire speech in one sitting, especially if it’s five or more minutes long. I found it helpful to use notecards to memorize the speech one point at a time.

Give your speech to a small audience first. This will get you used to speaking in front of people. Find a group of friends that you feel comfortable speaking in front of and practice a few times with them.

Here’s a more comprehensive list on speech preparation, courtesy of the University of New South Wales, Sydney.

Reducing Speech Anxiety:

Preparation goes a long way in helping reduce anxiety about public speaking, but here are some other ways to calm your nerves.

Breathing exercises are great for reducing anxiety. Focusing your mind on your breathing distracts you from your worries about your speech, and they can help regulate your body. My personal favorite is the 4-7-8 breathing exercise.

Reframe your mindset. Your mind may show you every worst-case scenario of what might happen during your speech. Try to challenge these negative thoughts by replacing them with positive affirmations and try to visualize your success.
Take care of yourself. Make sure to stay hydrated and have a snack before your speech, and dress in an outfit that makes you feel good about yourself. Dressing to impress really works!
Fake it ‘til you make it. It’s cliché advice, but it’s true. Pretending you’re cool, calm and collected when you walk up to deliver your speech can make you feel more confident.

Public Speaking in 2024:

As the world changes, so does our communication. Post-COVID lockdown, virtual events and meetings are now commonplace, and as future PR professionals, it’s important to consider this when we think about public speaking. Virtual presentations can be very different from in-person presentations, and if you’re unfamiliar with the idea, it can be nerve-wracking. Here are some tips on virtual presenting.

Set up the right environment. Make sure your surroundings are well-lit and free of any unnecessary clutter. If the background is too busy, consider setting a custom backdrop for your presentation to minimize distractions for the audience.

Engage your audience by utilizing some of the many features of Zoom. The chat window is a great way to ask questions to your audience.
Make eye contact with the camera. Since you won’t be in front of a live audience, it’s essential to look at your audience while you speak. If you have notecards or a sheet of paper to reference during your speech, it may be helpful to attach them to the wall in front of you, so you don’t look down from the audience.

For more information on public speaking via Zoom: Author, speaker, digital marketing thought-leader and Forbes Councils member Krista Naher shares 13 ways to improve virtual presentations.

What to take away:

Public speaking is a skill, not a talent, and a PR career path will give you many opportunities to hone your skills. So, when you sign up for that public speaking class, remember these tips and tricks, and remember: you CAN succeed at public speaking.