I wonder how fear dominates man’s mind to the extent that he is nervous when speaking in any gathering. It doesn’t matter the number of people present, addressing a group of people becomes a problem to the majority of people.
Are you someone who is so shy that you cannot address people or deliver a speech in any formal meeting? Worry not! I have a dose for you. I am, nay, I was also in your shoe before – really so shy and nervous that standing before two or more people to express my view used to be an uphill task for me. Every human being experiences the same fear.
I learned how to speak or address the public from my English language lecturer when I was in higher school. Now I have overcome my fear, and can boastfully say I can face any audience and deliver a speech or speak naturally, fluently.
Why we fail in most cases is because we do mind too much about those present at the occasion – some who are highly educated and even who are authority in the subject of which we are invited to speak about. We also dominate our minds with a thought of people who will or may appear unfriendly when we mount the podium to speak or deliver the speech.
Below is the unedited lecture note from my handout from the college on how to handle the speech delivery situation: It is bolded by me for emphasis and clarity.
“Are you scared of speaking before a large audience or even making a few suggestions in public? This need not be. You can make effective speeches in public. Here are a few pointers.
Perhaps the most important step is to be sure of what you are going to say. This sound obvious enough, but it is amazing how many people get up to speak when in fact they have very little to say. After one inconsequential point, they discover they have run of steam. So, to ensure you can speak well, get enough point you can speak about, examine them in depth and digest them thoroughly. The more points you have, the more conversant you are with them, the more confident you will be.
How do you present your speech? Certainly before you begin, it will be a little uneasy. Even the most experienced speaker feels the same way before beginning his speech. This is not bad, in fact it is a good tonic for a successful speech, to overcome this, do not rush headlong into the task. Rather, it pays to breathe in and out heavily and deeply. Then begin the speech, slowly, calmly, carefully, with a clear confident voice. This is when you are going through the salutation. “The Chairman, Honourable Guests of Honour, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen……” By the time you finish this and go through the usual ritual of stating that it gives you “great pleasure to stand before this august gathering to discuss a few point……” you would have reached the point of emotional equilibrium. You should now be sufficiently calm to go on with the speech.
Somewhere at the beginning, and at strategic points in your speech, you should introduce flavour into what you are saying. You would not want to serve tea without sugar afterall. So, you should inject some humorous remarks once in a while but this calls for skill. To start with, you cannot introduce humour indiscriminately otherwise you may sound like a jester. Experienced most often introduce humour early in their speeches presumably to ease the tension in the hail, but these jokes must be brief, purposeful and closely related to the point.
Many speakers are scared by the countenances of the listeners. Not all their looks are friendly. However, there are bound to be a few friendly ones, and it is advisable to pick them out, look at them from time to time and ignore the hostile ones. Looking at the friendly faces keeps you at ease.
You are advised to write out your speech in full after which you should read it several times before the day. You could get a willing listener to criticize your delivery. Do this several times until you can almost recite it. Notice that I am not advising you to memorize it, because you could forget vital areas due to anxiety. Writing out and practicing the speech would make you more familiar with the content, indeed with every word.
Speech making is an art. While it is true that some are gifted in speech making, it is more correct that anyone who doesn’t suffer from speech handicaps can learn to deliver effective speeches. And you can become a master in this art”.
Aminat Adesope is one of our Staff writers.
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