How to overcome the fear of speaking

This picture was taken two years ago in one of my speaking engagements. The ability
to speak goes beyond having a conversation. Many at times we are well equipped with knowledge to deliver a speech or presentation but lack confidence in public speaking. I used to be that way until I redefined the meaning of the word SPEAK by analyzing the letters in an attempt to overcome the fear of public speaking.

S- be SURE of what you are going to SAY. Get your facts right.

P- PREPARE. You may have spoken on the topic before but the year, location and season may be different. Preparation is key for an effective and relevant message.

E- EMOTIONAL Intelligence. Having a general understanding of your audience’s emotion will make it easy for them to connect with you. For instance, you can have an idea of the mood of your audience while speaking (feeling excited,  bored or tired ). By that, you could either have a fun icebreaker game, share an interesting story or summarize the remaining points.

A- Attention. Pay ATTENTION to the little details of the day like who you will be delivering the speech to, this can go a long way in tailoring the message to suit your audience.

K- KNOW your audience. This helps me know how to prepare my speech. I spoke to a group of teenagers on motivation and positive thinking and later spoke with youths on the same topic but there was a major change in the speech because I knew who would be listening.

These are some steps to build your confidence.