Came across an article written by Deborah Patel, a voice and presentation coach in Asia. And since you guys are fans of lists, I decided to share one with you. In her list, you will learn ten quick tips to reduce your public speaking fear.

Here are my comments on her list. As you can tell, I don’t necessarily agree with all of them. However, I suggest you test them out anyway. At the end of the day, if the tip works for you, that’s all that matters.

1. Give up the idea of perfection
Agreed. Until you accept the fact that you can’t be perfect, you will suffer unnecessary performance anxiety. Sometimes it will even paralyse you and prevent you from even getting up on stage. However, please do not take this as an excuse to under-prepare!

2. Know your topic and audience
Spot on. By knowing your topic and audience, you reduce uncertainty. This in turns give you control, a nemesis to fear.

3. Be prepared for worst case scenario
Similar to point 2. It works on the principle of reducing any uncertainty that may come up. This includes audience being hostile or you were told last minute that your presentation time has been halved.

4. Practice aloud - even if it’s a 30 seconds introduction
That’s right! In fact I have been doing that for all my presentations. The first 30 seconds of any presentation is the most crucial because the audience is the most skeptical, and you the speaker is the most nervous. By making sure you have memorized your introduction, you will be less likely to fumble at the start. It helps to practice aloud too so that you know how you sound like. I will usually incorporate hand gestures too. By getting your entire body involved, your mind will be conditioned to think that you are doing the actual speech. And when you are on stage, you will feel like you have done in umpteen times. This has great effect in boosting your confidence.

5. Always warm up
Though I have not really tried that myself, I know of artistes doing so. Irene Ang do funny faces in the toilet 5 minutes before her hosting gig and Gurmit Singh will do pushups.

6. Don’t apologize for yourself
Not sure how will this help to reduce your public speaking fear? It’s also interesting that she mentioned that 99 out of 100 times, the audience is with you. I disagree. In fact, I believe that the audience don’t care if you succeed or not. Click link to find out why.

7. Think positive thoughts while focusing on your breathing
For me, instead of thinking positive thoughts, I think about my most successful speech that I have given. It never fail to give me the extra oomph that I need before I get up on stage. And as I walked up on stage, I will also look at the audience and mentally tell them: “You are gonna love me!” It never fail to make me grin. Of course, you don’t have to say the same thing as me. Find a line that works for you. For example “I am the greatest man alive. Clap for me you fine people of (insert your country)!”

8. Hold microphones with your non dominant hand
This is the first time I have heard it.

9. Join Toastmasters
Absolutely! Please do not just join a Toastmasters club. Participate actively. Volunteer to speak as often as you can. Seek feedback from the more experienced speakers. Don’t be afraid to try new techniques. And have fun while you are at it!

Deborah also mention signing up for an acting class. I am not exactly sure why. At most, you will be a master at theatrics but in my opinion, a good actor doesn’t necessarily make you a good speaker. Instead, I suggest you join an improv club. Improv clubs train you in quick thinking, an extremely powerful skill to have that will help you reduce your speaking fear tremendously. You will be more equipped in handling unexpected situations. You can turn whatever that is thrown at you to your advantage. And more importantly, you become funnier. For starters, catch Whose Line Is It Anyway? or

Here’s Deborah article in case you miss it: Ten Quick Tips To Reduce Your Public Speaking Fear.

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