Public speaking can be a nerve-wracking experience, even for the most experienced individuals. That’s why preparing for a public speech can leave you with many sleepless nights. However, it is an important life skill, and being able to speak in front of a large crowd of people can allow you to gain confidence and succeed in other tasks that you may have feared before.
At times, introverts can feel anxious while having to socialize even with a small group of people; that’s why it’s essential to learn the right tactics to overcome such nerve-wracking experiences and become more confident while communicating with others.
You don’t suddenly have to become an extrovert and be energized while surrounded by people. In fact, learning from your introverted behavior can be the key to make yourself feel more comfortable in a public setting.
Find Yourself a Coach
If you’re preparing for an important speech and want to make a distinct impression, it may be worth investing in a speaking coach that will help you prepare. It’s best to connect to a coach who also deems themselves an introvert. That way, they will be able to relate to any fears you may have and help you achieve your goals.
A coach may also make you realize where your fear of public speaking is derived from; that way, you will be able to face the difficult task without any innate fears stopping you. If you haven’t found a speaking coach yet, check out The iNLP Center, which will provide you with an accredited life coach to thrive in any public speaking situation!
Prepare, but don’t Over-prepare
Introverts usually take more time than other people to prepare for any critical speech, and oftentimes, write a script in hopes of memorizing it. It’s essential to prepare and know what you will be talking about; however, over-preparing and memorizing an entire speech is not the way to go.
You should prepare a list of bullet points, summarizing the main ideas you want to convey to the crowd, rather than trying to write an entire speech and memorizing it.
This will allow you to cover all the critical points and pass on the information you want your audience to hear, but won’t get you derailed like a script would if you forget certain parts of it.
Scripts are excellent for actors who can repeat their scenes numerous times. But repeatedly going back to the same point in your speech in hopes of remembering the next part might not leave the best impression on your audience.
It could leave them quite confused. It’s easy to forget parts of your speech while you’re on stage speaking in front of people, which may cause a bandwagon effect of you forgetting all the aspects you want to discuss. Leave the scripts to actors and prepare bullet points instead.
Don’t Take It So Seriously
Think about it, do you judge people on anything and everything they say while presenting a speech? If the answer is no, then you have to realize that your biggest critic is yourself. Other people don’t judge every action you undertake as much as you think they do.
Introverts often worry about things they may have said or done in the past. Still, the key to overcoming such shyness and anxiety related to such matters is realizing that people don’t remember small details as such, and you shouldn’t take it so seriously.
Be Confident
Telling you to “Be confident” may sound a bit ironic, since that’s probably the one thing you may be lacking during public speaking, but that’s the number one aspect to conveying a successful presentation. In general, confidence is vital, and even if you’re not entirely confident about what you’re talking about, making an impression that you are will make the audience feel much more assured about whatever it is that you’re trying to say.
Gaining confidence may not be easy and requires work and practice to achieve, but starting off small by giving speeches to your inner circle of friends or family can indeed be a great start. Knowing you did your best can be a superb confident booster, so just go into the speech with your head up, and hopefully, the rest will flow accordingly!
Conclusion
Having to give a public speech while being an introvert is not an easy thing to do and requires a lot of practice. Going into the presentation with a positive outlook and knowledge of what you’re speaking about is already a big chunk of the work.
Always prepare beforehand, and practice what you will be trying to convey to your audience. If you’re preparing for an important presentation, I recommend checking out some life coaches who will help you understand all the essentials of delivering a speech on a professional level.
