How to Reduce Stress Before Giving a Speech

Source: wikiHow

1. 1 Pick a topic you are interested in. If you can, pick a subject you enjoy. Speak on topics you know well. Even if you are delivering dreary statistics about last year’s crop failure, put something of yourself into your speech by explaining why you are interested in the topic. Practice and preparation are easier if your subject matter is important or enjoyable to you.
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   • If you think your material is interesting and meaningful, your audience will catch your enthusiasm and appreciate your sincerity. For instance, if you are interested in a complex scientific theory, your enthusiasm can make a speech about this theory more engaging and can clarify why the theory is important for an audience.
2. 2 Become an expert on your subject. It’s important to know your topic well when you are giving a speech. If not, you could get embarrassed in front of the audience if your content is not correct. Also, if you don’t know your subject well, you could be asked questions after the speech that you can’t answer.^[2]
   • When researching your topic, its important to do preliminary work to understand the basic subject overall but then focus in on a specific subject you can talk about. For instance, if you may want to talk about Shakespeare’s plays you should know general information about them overall but you should narrow your focus to 1 or 2 of his plays for your speech.
   • Also think about questions that might be asked about your subject. Preparing answers to likely questions will make you feel more prepared, and thus less nervous.
   • Also prepare an “I don’t know” answer if people will be asking questions. You can say something like, “That is a great question. I’ll look into that.”
3. 3 Write your speech early. If you are nervous about giving a speech, it may be tempting to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to write it. However, giving yourself time to edit and practice the speech will help you overcome your nervousness.^[3]
   • If you are giving a short speech in class, consider writing it a week ahead of time. This will give you a few days to edit it and a few days to practice the final draft.
   • If you are giving a long speech in front of hundreds of people, such as an hour long lecture, you should begin writing your speech several weeks before you are set to give it.
   • Depending on your subject, if you write your speech in advance, be sure to look for updates on the material that come after you write your speech but before you deliver it so you information is up to date.
4. 4 Practice the speech out loud. Practicing will help you smooth out the speech so the language and ideas flow well and will help make the speech sound like second nature. If you practice enough times, it will minimize your nervousness and give you confidence in your ability to give the speech compellingly.^[4]
   • Practice your speech in front of another person. Having an audience will get you used to giving your speech in front of an audience.
   • Consider setting up a camera and practice on camera. Play it back and watch it to see what you can improve or do better. It’s always good to fix your problem before doing your speech!
5. 5 Finalize your script. Don’t pick the day of your speech to experiment with a new style or to change the content drastically. If you don’t do the speech as you have rehearsed it, it may give you an extra reason to feel nervous in front of a crowd.^[5]
   • This is not to say that you can’t make small changes, such as adding an example or 2 or changing a sentence here and there. You simply shouldn’t make large substantive changes right before the speech.
   • It may be necessary to update statistics or ideas that may have changed since you wrote the speech. However, if these changes are drastic, it may be better to address the changes at the end of your speech, depending on the topic.

1. 1 Put previous negative experiences behind you. Some people have speaking anxiety because of some humiliating incident of the past—often in childhood. Such events can be highly traumatizing and can cause lifelong, paralyzing fear of speaking in public. Maybe your fear isn’t even a true phobia, but still relates to past flops and embarrassments.^[6]
   • Remember that all good speakers started out as not-so-good speakers. They improved because they resolved to do better the next time and they learned from their past mistakes.
   • If a past incident is the basis of your fear, visit a therapist or counselor who specializes in phobias. Contrary to popular belief, many phobias can be cured with a lot of work and regular therapy sessions.
2. 2 Visualize the outcome you want. Many people who fear public speaking visualize their upcoming speech as an abysmal failure and this has a negative impact on their speeches. Instead, you should visualize yourself giving the speech the way you want to. If you anticipate success, you are more likely to get it.^[7]
   • Mentally…

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