Your palms are sweaty, your heart is pounding in your ears, you’re hyperventilating…

WHAT ON EARTH IS UP TO YOU?

Are you in a horror movie? Or does it just seem that way to you?
What’s the scariest thing ever? Scarier than the monster under your bed?
correct……

PUBLIC SPEAKING 😱

The fear of public speaking, glossophobia, affects about 73% of the population, according to reports from the National Institute of Mental Health.
73 percent …wow…amazing that there is actually an issue that so many people can agree on…

Stage fright is a vampire. Just as Dracula sucks the blood out of his victims, stage fright sucks all the self-confidence out of your body. The underlying fear of stage fright is judgment or negative evaluation from others. This type of fear is very common and shared by many presenters. The fear of being judged by others or feeling unappreciated in your community is a valid and real subconscious feeling if you are a little self-reflective.

Stage fright affects a lot of people, but that doesn’t stop us from presenting clearly and effectively . Hi&Lo has a few tricks you can use to overcome your fear of speaking and presenting. Let’s imagine that we are the main character in a horror film. Then let’s imagine that we are the one who has to fight the monster.

In a tense situation, just like in a horror movie, your body wants to run away. It works differently because your nervous system has recognized a danger. And like in the horror movie, we have the option to fight or flee. If you are about to give a presentation and feel that fear is taking over, take a deep breath, count to three and breathe out as hard as you can. Like a long, silent scream.

Once the escape reflex has calmed down a bit, we need to get in touch with the thing that scares us. the audience As our little horror story continues, we now understand that we have no choice but to face what is haunting us. We wonder what it might want from us, and in this case it wants information. And, just a hint: the fact that you’re the one standing on stage should give you the confidence that you know at least 50% more about the subject than the people in the audience. Now we combine all our strengths and arm ourselves with the shield of information and the sword of effective communication.

Let’s go!

Now it’s time to act! Now, to make your presentation successful, you need to arm yourself with the following weapons: non-verbal expressions, effective use of your voice, and audience engagement.

NONVERBAL EXPRESSIONS: Nonverbal expressions include gestures, body language, eye contact, and tone of voice. So actions do indeed speak louder than words, and what scares you perceives you as a strong individual. Before your performance, we recommend a 5-minute superhero pose to prepare your body for its task.

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EFFECTIVE USE OF VOICE:Public speaking does not come naturally to most people, in fact most people are afraid and need to learn this skill. Using clear and concise language, speaking loudly and clearly, slowing down at important points in the presentation, pausing and avoiding monotonous speech, projecting your voice and avoiding filler words like um are good ways to improve your public speaking skills. This is all a matter of practice. There is actually a worldwide organization called Toastmasters where you can speak, present and practice your performances in a safe environment: www.toastmasters.org

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT: In order to engage your audience , you must know and understand them and use language that is tailored to the audience. You should pay attention to viewers‘ non-verbal cues and use paraphrases to confirm understanding or use questions to encourage audience interaction.

Book recommendation

We have found a book that we would like to recommend.“Rule the Room“ A unique, practical and comprehensive guide to a successful presentation by Jason Teteak

All of these weapons can help you fight your dragon , but they don’t really take away your fear of him. It’s best to imagine him naked 😉 JK! (Well, actually this tactic has been used for many years, but we find the thought scarier than the monsters).

The adrenaline rush of facing the monster is the hero’s journey . Just as your journey is to find your courage and skills and understand that YOU are the speaker that the audience will be entertained and informed by. So you’re the hero in this situation – stage fright or not.

Every great horror film always has a sequel, but that’s OK because the hero has now gained experience and become smarter and faster.

This Halloween season may be scary, but stage fright doesn’t have to be!
If you would like more tips, tricks and insights into the world of presentation, follow us on YouTube , Facebook , Instagram ( @hilo_agency ) or LinkedIn .