Can Anyone develop the self-confidence to speak in public? (4 Step Guide)

Have you ever got an invitation to deliver a speech at a public event? You may be a student or an office worker or a top-level manager. No matter which age or which level you are at there is always a possibility for you to get an invitation to speak in public.

Let me start this post by saying there is a medical term for fear of speaking in public. “Glossophobia” is commonly known as fear of public speaking is more common than you think. According to some sources around 77% of the total population shows some anxiety regarding speaking in public.

In order to develop self-confidence, where should we look?

Let me tell you about my experience. I spent thousands of hours in search of self-confidence. watched tons of youtube videos. Tried to find the perfect motivational video that could spark my self-confidence. Spent hours reading blogs without sleeping and trying to find the perfect remedy to develop self-confidence.

But When I couldn’t find that perfect youtube video or the guided blog post. But I gained valuable knowledge reading those blogs.

The best place to look for self-confidence is yourself. Go in front of a mirror. And look into it. Start talking. Say what you want. Do you know who is your best friend? It’s yourself. The reason is you are the only one who knows everything about yourself. Start talking like you are talking to someone you know.

Step one: identify the problem

As a person who spent most of the time trying to find the courage to speak, I say anyone can develop self-confidence. There are many real-life stories to back that up.

The first step to finding self-confidence is to accept that you have a problem. Although I used the word “Problem”, it doesn’t mean you have a medical condition. Having identified our real situation provides us with a chance to develop a plan

step two: Be your friend

In boxing, there is a practice technique called shadowboxing. To tell you the truth I don’t know the science behind it. But I know it works.

We can do the same thing to develop self-confidence. Start spending a few minutes talking to yourself. First, you may feel overwhelmed by your own reflection or your voice. But don’t give up. Practice shadow-speaking as it is one of your daily activities. So with time, you will get used to it. You will find your strong points. You will notice your negative points. But with time you will improve.

It’s the same as doing a youtube channel. First, you will feel like giving up. When you hear your voice you may want to give up. But with time if you can stay consistent you will reach the goal comfortably.

Note: When you practice alone try to visualize your audience. imagine you are in front of a large audience. Look into their eyes and start talking.

step three: Plan and prepare your speech

To deliver a public speech, we, normal people need preparation. Especially in the beginner’s stage. If you have carefully prepared your content, it will give you a competitive edge in delivering the speech. It will boost your confidence level.

Break downBreak down your speech. Decide your title and the sub-topics. Then write down an opening to grab the attention of your audience. Then start writing content for the sub-topic. Always remember to stay relevant to the title. Finally, summarize your speech in a way that proves your main title. This is just a basic way of planning and preparing a speech.

In the future, we will discuss more how to write a speech script? Remember When we have a speech prepared, it boosts our self-confidence. Because we know that we have the content, we need.

step four: practice practice practice to develop self-confidence

When I first joined the toastmasters club to develop my public speaking skills my mentor advised me to practice every day. At least for a few minutes. So now you have the content ready and you know how you speak, start practicing it in front of a live audience. You can practice it in front of your family or friends. maybe a few friends.

Pay attention to how they react to your speech. Do they laugh at your joke? Do you manage to keep their attention continuously? Practicing in front of different audiences can give us a wealth of evaluation notes to restructure and develop our speech.

So by practicing alone and in front of a live audience, you will develop self-confidence little by little.

Summary

Speaking in front of a crowd could be a nerve-wracking experience for many of us. No matter the age or job title we all face that pressure when it comes to public speaking.

So you may be thinking. Can anyone develop the self-confidence to speak in public? The answer is yes.

Here we talked about 4 steps to developing self-confidence to do a public speech.

• Identify your weakness
• Be your friend
• Plan and prepare
• Practice practice and practice

If you follow these simple steps, you can easily develop the self-confidence to stand confidently in front of a live audience and deliver a great speech. See you in the next article. Share your thoughts below.