Flying off to give a speech? My six top tips.

Conquering Fear of Public Speaking

My six top tips

1 You are the most confident person in the room.

The members of the audience are more afraid than you are. You are on the stage. They are sitting at the back and avoiding the front rows.

2 Don't tell them you are afraid. 

Would you want the the pilot of a plane to tell you he was nervous, or a train driver, or a bus driver, or the chef in a restaurant, or the person on the till counting out your change? Instead look confident to reassure the audience they are not wasting their time. 

3 Take a deep breath and speak loudly. 

Several members of the audience are worried they won't hear. They are aged over 50, have hearing loss, are sitting behind somebody with a large head, are distracted by somebody nearby whispering, or speak English as a second language. Be kind. Be audible.

4 This is not the hardest speech.

The speech at your mother's funeral is your hardest speech. Same goes for any other funeral speech. No other speech comes near. Practise speaking this silly speech so that when you have to give one of life's hardest speeches you can be fair to the audience and the occasion. 

5 The audience are hoping to enjoy themselves. 

Make sure they do. Smile at them Focus on what they want. Their chief concern is: - what is in it for me?

6 Go to a Toastmasters International meeting.

Add a song to your speech. 

Rap Song: Teacher

👨👩

A teacher is a teacher
And she should stay a teacher
'cos when she starts to be a preacher
It's very hard to reach her

Always do what you are asked
Do not let the days race past
Do what you're asked real fast
She need not nag about that task

In a class you need to show
You'll apply all that you know
And you go where you should go
And cast a warm white glow

Do not shrug and be too cold
Then she won't have need to scold
If  you do what you are told
The young and old are growing old

When you put her on a pedestal
She is heading for a fall
When she's too high and far too tall
She's no use to you at all

Let her sow and you will reap
All the joys and skills you seek
Like a tree which bears a peach
Like the waves which wash a beach

If you know the rules to keep
Choose, don't follow like blind sheep
Daytime alert, the night's for sleep
Always laugh and never weep

I'll repeat what I just said
To drum it in your head
Repeat each night in bed
Read and write what you have read:

Let a teacher be a teacher
She should stay a teacher, not a preacher
'Cos when she starts to preach it's very hard to reach her
But stay in touch, you'll learn so much -
💗
From your beloved teacher
From your beloved teacher..

Copyright Angela Lansbury 2019 Nov 22