Techniques for Managing Public Speaking
• Movement helps breathing! Plan and practice your movement. The
most logical times to move would be during the transitions of your
speech.
• Wait. Don’t begin until you are ready. Take a few minutes to look
over your note, say your first sentence to yourself, take a deep
breath, and then begin!
• Practice concepts, not words. Never, never, never write out a talk
word for word unless absolute accuracy must be maintained (legal
situations). Otherwise, just make brief notes. A little spontaneity
adds tremendous amount of character to your talk. Written
speeches are almost always boring, and when you read text, it is
much more difficult to make a connection with your audience.
o Memorizing a talk word for word can actually lead to more
anxiety. If something out of the ordinary happens or if you ever
lose your place, you will put an extreme amount of pressure on
yourself to get back. A better way to memorize a talk is to
narrow your talk down to just a few main ideas and commit
those main ideas to memory. If during your presentation you
have additional time, you can add more details to the main ideas,
and if times runs short, you rest assured that your main points
were delivered.
• Exercise. Try walking before your speech. More strenuous exercise
should take place much earlier in the day, not just before your
speech. Stretch your muscles throughout your body. Try isometric
exercise (Tense the muscle group, hold, release). Make a “Lion
Face” and a “Mouse Face” to loosen up your facial muscles. Make
fists, hold, release. Try shoulder rolls/lifts.
• Do deep breathing exercises. This is the old standby for any tense
situation and professional speakers swear by its effectiveness. Take
a deep breath, hold it for three or four seconds and exhale. Repeat
four or five times. You’ll feel remarkably more at ease.
• You might warm up your voice: “My mama makes me eat my M
and M’s.”
University Speaking Center, 256-1346, speakingcenter.uncg.edu
http://www.performanceanxiety.com/topten.htm
http://www.leadersinstitute.com/resource/publicspeakingtips2.html
http://www.roch.edu/dept/spchcom/anxiety_handout.htm
http://nsaspeaker.org/media_center/fear_of_speaking.shtml
• Drop your hands: Your hands and your gestures can add
great impact to your delivery. When you are not using your
hands, just drop them to your side. It will feel awkward at
first, but dropping your hands to your side is the most
natural gesture you can use. For instance, when you walk
down the hallway at your office, do you cup your hands in
front of you as you walk? Is it more natural to lock your
hands behind you when you walk? Probably not. In most
situations, it is natural to just let your hands drop to your
side. When you do this it will allow you to make more
purposeful gestures when you need to.
• Realize anxiety exists. What are your fears? Make a list of
your fears. Now look to see what is realistic and what is not?
Would the entire audience REALLY begin pointing,
laughing, and mocking you? Probably not. Could you drop
your cards; yes. What would you do? How about pick them
up? See…you can plan how to respond to realistic fears.
• Have a “GIMMICK” for each part of your speech…Roleplays,
skits, poems, music, etc. This helps you to look forward
to different areas of your speech.
• Mingle with the audience before the speech – If it’s possible,
try to meet people in the audience before you speak. A simple
chat with a few people in the audience will increase your
familiarity with the audience and improve your comfort level.
• If you are standing behind a podium, gently push your
fingernails into your palm, squeeze a paper clip. Or press
your foot onto one of the shelves in the podium to trick you
brain. You should inflict minimal pain, enough that your
brain focuses less on your nervousness and more on the pain
felt.
• If maintaining eye contact with your audience’s eyes makes
you nervous, look at your audience member’s ears instead.
No one will know the difference.
University Speaking Center, 256-1346, speakingcenter.uncg.edu
http://www.performanceanxiety.com/topten.htm
http://www.leadersinstitute.com/resource/publicspeakingtips2.html
http://www.roch.edu/dept/spchcom/anxiety_handout.htm
http://nsaspeaker.org/media_center/fear_of_speaking.shtml