Speaking in front of an audience, especially a large one, can be nerve-wracking. However, nervousness is completely normal. Everyone experiences it, even the most seasoned speakers. If
you don’t feel nervous at all, that’s a red flag—it might mean you’re indifferent to your speech or that your confidence has turned into overconfidence. In today’s BrandOn blog, we’ll discuss a few techniques that will help you overcome anxiety and deliver a better speech.
1. Be Well-Prepared
We fear mistakes much less when a process becomes automatic. However, we tend to get nervous about potential slip-ups during a speech. That’s why you should thoroughly prepare in advance to minimize all possible risks.
2. Don’t Change the Presentation
You can always find something to tweak and improve in any presentation. But you don’t need perfect slides. The most important element of any presentation is you. The same rule applies to well-designed slides—if they don’t align with your delivery, they lose their value.
3. Get Familiar with the Stage
Ever seen those historical movie scenes where a commander walks around the battlefield before a fight? You should do the same. Find comfortable spots, understand where you can see the entire audience, and figure out where to stand so that the stage lights don’t blind you.
4. Listen to Other Speakers
Most of the time, speakers are just regular people who make mistakes, feel nervous, and go through the same things as you—or even worse. Observing others can help you gain confidence and perspective.
5. Find a Friendly Face in the Audience
In any audience, there are always friendly people. If something goes wrong, the room feels too tight, or the audience seems unengaged, find a person who appears supportive and direct your speech towards them. It doesn’t matter why they seem friendly—maybe they’re your friend or colleague, maybe they liked your outfit, or maybe they’re not supportive at all, and you just imagined it. It doesn’t matter—the key is finding that person. These simple tricks will help you gain the audience’s trust and deliver a successful speech. Keep following BrandOn’s blog, and don’t miss our article “4 Creative Marketing Tricks”!