Public speaking is the art of delivering presentations or speeches in front of a large crowd. However, most people start to feel anxious and nervous at the thought of public speaking due to a lack of confidence and the fear of addressing a live crowd. Such people need to reflect on their positive skills to improve their self-confidence. But, how do you effectively achieve this aspect? Read the article to know about the tips and techniques for confidence building training.
Techniques to Build Your Confidence
Being confident helps you to ease your mind at the thought of addressing an audience. Let’s look at some of the techniques that will help build your confidence.
- Deal with Negative Past Experiences, If Any
It is possible that you might have experienced an awkward pause and wished that the Earth would swallow you up. You might have fainted due to the anxiety and the pressure of confronting a crowd. If you have faced any negative experiences in the past related to public speaking, it is important to deal with them as flashbacks may cause you to throw up at the thought of public speaking. It will impact your future.
So, face it, deal with it, and move on from that experience. Decide to not play this episode in your mind. If you need help, ask for assistance from experts such as Orator Academy. You can’t build confidence unless and until you get over the negative experiences that you have faced.
- Watch Yourself and Write Down the Things You Like
Watching yourself is the best way to analyze your abilities and appreciate them. So, watch yourself on a camera when you are practicing for your speech or presentation. However, you should understand that finding criticisms and improving them is only one face of the coin. You can also understand your abilities and write them on paper. This will ensure that you don’t get overwhelmed by the fixings that you have to make. Moreover, knowing about your strengths will boost your confidence and morale.
- Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
Do you watch the videos of other public speakers and end up comparing yourself to them? If yes, stop doing this. Stop comparing yourself to anyone. Comparing yourself with others makes you lose your confidence. Some people might be better than you. If you compare yourself to them, you might feel you are not worthy enough. However, it is not a reason to give up. Understand that every person has their independent abilities. No one can perform the way you perform. Learn from others but don’t waste your time comparing yourself to others.
You can put a limit on your social media accounts if these social media platforms are making you set unattainable standards. The comparison focuses on what you don’t have rather than what you already have. This is a distraction to building your self-confidence. Build your confidence from your abilities that make you a unique speaker.
- Practice, Practice, and Practice
Many people don’t practice enough and end up getting anxious and nervous during their presentations or speech. However, this should not be the case. If you truly want to improve your confidence, practice as much as you can. The more your practice, the more confident you will appear. It’s okay if you make a mistake in your practice session.
You can improve them but don’t just give up. Invest your time in researching and organizing your ideas and practicing to improve your public speaking skills. It will result in progress which will help build your self-confidence. So, practice in front of a mirror or in front of your family members and friends. You can also record yourself! Remember that practice makes you perfect.
- Reflect on Your Positive Past Achievements
If you have done public speaking before, fall back on the positive experience. It might be different from your present project in terms of the size of the audience, topic, and others but reflecting on your positive points and achievements will help you to recognize your abilities. Reflecting on positive past experiences helps build your confidence and boost your morale.
If you can do it then, why can’t you do it now? It is human tendency to forget the things that went well and remember the things that didn’t work out. This is why it is advisable to write down past achievements when it is fresh in your mind. Remind yourself that you succeeded and received positive feedback from others. So, to prepare for this event, you can refer to these past achievements and boost your confidence.
- Don’t be Afraid of Being Confident
Understand that confidence and arrogance are two different things. You have to be confident, not arrogant. Arrogant people don’t take the audience’s perceptions seriously while confident people respect the feedback of their audience. However, you might be termed arrogant when you are trying to be confident. Don’t focus on what others say about you. The fact that you are concerned about being a good speaker and boosting your confidence is all you should care about.
Remember if you have a healthy approach towards yourself and your audience as a speaker, you won’t be recognized as arrogant. Rather, people will view you as a confident person. So, don’t care about how your confidence will be perceived but focus only on building your confidence.
In a Nutshell
Orator Academy understands that lack of self-confidence is one of the reasons for an individual to become anxious during their speech or presentation. This is why Orator Academy brings you the opportunity to master the art of public speaking through its online courses. Yes, you read it right! Orator Academy provides public speaking courses to boost your confidence and provide you with tips and techniques to improve your skills.
The course is curated by an expert in a way that is best for beginners and intermediates. The mentor will guide you at each step of your progress. Go to the official website of Orator Academy to learn more!
