When you think about public speaking, the hair on the back of your neck may stand up. You remember the last time you were standing behind a rostrum and you ended up eating most of your own words just because that tingly feeling in your stomach won’t go away. You realize you sweat a lot when you’re backstage or while you’re sitting in the office board room and have to give a presentation next.

The fear of public speaking is quite common than you think. People don’t even realize how stressful they get that their body activates their survival mechanism. The old “Fight or Flight” is what gets you safe and by safe we mean, completely devasted because you ended up choking on your own words and the presentation didn’t go that well.

“What am I so afraid of?” is the question in everyone’s head. And it’s true, people are often scared to speak their heart out. However, if you are to take any great leader into perspective, you’ll realize that no matter who they were, they knew what to say and how to say it. Public speaking is a vital organ in the make-up of a true influencer and nowadays, it has become even more so.

Who isn’t inspired by the speeches made by Winston Churchill in his wartime effort, the man who rallied an entire nation towards a cause simply by his wit and his words? Who isn’t inspired by Greta Thunberg’s speech in the UN towards the leaders of the world to come to a consensus about climate change? Despite her stature, she looked at everyone in the eye and spoke the truth. It doesn’t matter who you are what your size is or how good you look. Your words and ideas mixed with a persistence unlike any other can change the world. True leaders always have, haven’t they?

 

How does Public Speaking Help?

There are several instances in which the way you form your words and then voice them out can help you in life. The art of public speaking helps you carefully assess someone before you talk to them. It helps you communicate better to form alliances and gain followers in your ranks. A true leader understands his people well because he or she isn’t scared to ask them questions about them.

Through public speaking, you gain confidence in your communication skills. Confidence is not only attractive but also intimidating. It sends out a message to anyone who meets you for the first time that you are satisfied with yourself and your ideas. Your faith in yourself is what sets you apart from someone who doesn’t even know why they are alive in the first place.

Furthermore, having confidence in your words can help you stay calm in situations where emotions are running wild. Tensions may rise and this is where a true leader needs to be careful with what they say. Diplomats, for example, need to assess someone sitting on the opposite table and be able to convince them about something the diplomat holds. This way, public speaking can help negotiate treaties, help form trade alliances, free victims of war and even gain support from another nation.

As a leader, you need vital connections who can help you in your time of need. Someone with several connections is seen as useful and is therefore approached for guidance. A leader who knows how to form these connections must first learn how to speak well. They must be able to unite people towards a common cause/ idea. Leaders always have to keep the bigger picture in mind and public speaking skills can help them gain the support they need to pursue that vision.

Remember, it’s not only about winning minds but hearts as well. A follower can only truly stay loyal to you if they believe in what you say wholeheartedly. If you never voice out your ideas into the world, how will they ever believe in you?

 

Tips on Mastering Public Speaking?

[restrict]While some people are better at public speaking than others, it isn’t impossible to get better at it. Public speaking is a skill unlike any other and must require you to polish and refine it as much as you can. If you have had problems in public speaking and may feel underwhelmed when sitting in a crowd because you can’t contribute, don’t worry too much. There are ways you can learn how to open up and speak well in front of an audience. If public speaking affects your confidence, here are some tips you can take to heart to speak well and start believing in yourself.

1. Understand your Audience

You can try any quote you want in your speech, give any incentive to the audience but if you don’t understand them properly, you won’t be able to communicate. The basic rule of communication implies that there are encoding and decoding happening from both parties. To be able to encode your message in the way the audience can understand is what makes a true leader capable of speaking to the audience with full effect. You are better equipped to convince your followers, as an influencer, that whatever goal you are striving for has their benefit in it as well.

Before you give out a speech, try to figure out who you are talking to, the demographics and the age group. You also need to relate to the topic at hand if you are attending as a speaker in a corporate event or something similar to TED Talks.

2. Practice, practice, and practice

Once you get a hold of what you have to say, you need to practice it. People who practice their speeches before they go on to the stage have lesser chances of making a mistake or forgetting their content than people who don’t. Practice helps you understand what you are going to say to the audience. You remember the main points of your speech well after which you can mold what you say according to the environment that you are going to talk in.

3. Assess the Environment first

When you’re about to give a speech, don’t automatically assume that the situation may be exactly what you prepared for. Most of the time, surprises are waiting for you in the form of a question that you might not have the answer for if you’re not good at improvising. For that, you need to research the environment first and when you’re in that moment, you need to take a good look at your audience.

A true leader’s greatest capability is that he or she can turn any environment around and control it using their words. Once there is silence in that auditorium, you’ll realize that people are paying attention to what you’re saying and that gratification of its own.

4. Practice Body Language

Whoever said that there was only one form of communication in the world? Your body language can speak for you. Remember that before anyone can hear you speak, they will see you and if they feel like you’re not serious about what you are going to say or you don’t look the part, the audience is not going to listen to you. So, make sure you practice body language in front of a mirror and see what kind of an impression you give to yourself. Ultimately, it is the impression that the audience will get from you.

5. Understand what you’re afraid of

A part of the reason you get nervous when you’re given the spotlight is because you’re afraid of something. It can be stage fright or because you get anxious or that you’re afraid to say what you want to because you feel you’ll hurt someone.

While caring for someone else is good, it can sometimes interfere with the needs of the many. A true leader can assess what is holding them back and solve the problem so it doesn’t affect them anymore. Ask yourself several questions because if you’re afraid and you don’t even know it, you don’t know yourself well.

Once you realize that there is nothing to fear because the audience also has flaws, you will let go of your fear. Even though they all are looking at you, they are there to listen to something important. Something meaningful that sets them free and a true leader can understand that sentiment. That’s how you can not only inspire them but also motivate them to achieve their own goals. A true leader has the capability to do that with his or her voice and words.

Conclusion

While the road to becoming a true leader may have several other obstacles, public speaking is crucial. It can even help you through the other issues you will have to face where you will sometimes feel helpless. Even as a leader, you can’t help everyone and it’s the hardest thing to acknowledge. There will be those to oppose you and there will be those to help you. Whoever needs convincing will rely on you to convince them of your cause. Learning to speak well will, therefore, help you take your goals forward till they’re achieved.[/restrict]