Ending Soon! Save 33% on All Access

Scared of Public Speaking? Here Are a Few Steps to Get Over It One needs to let go of the fear of being absolutely amazing the entire time

By Nidhi Singh

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock.com

Public speaking is something that we have all faced at some point in our lives. If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur, you must master this skill. Even after studying from schools of repute, maximum students are still afraid to speak in front of a large group. This may be due to several reasons like the negative thought of failure, not knowing the topic and lastly, fear of humiliation and embarrassment. Entrepreneur India lists out few clever strategies for entrepreneurs to overcome the fear of public speaking and improve business success. With right preparation, you can always conquer your stage fright.

Tell the World what You're Passionate about:

Beginning the presentation in the right manner is extremely important. According to Vanky Kenny Kataria, Motivational Speaker, to make the presentation impactful, one can start by sharing a story which he/she is most passionate about.

"This helps as starting off with something which you are extremely passionate about is hard to forget or hard to be mistakenly told.So, a great start would break the ice and make the juices flowing which would help you give the rest of the presentation impactfully and with confidence," he said.

Make Sure You Have a Great Start:

Many people are most likely to make a firm impression about a speaker in the first 8 seconds. Hence, Kataria suggests that one needs to let go of the fear of being absolutely amazing the entire time. Instead, make sure you have a great start to have a lasting impression.

Embrace the Mistakes:

As humans, we make mistakes all the time. Kataria emphasized that the audience love it when the speaker decides to accept his/her mistake and even create a joke out of it.

"Let's imagine you are speaking in front of a jam-packed audience and in the middle of your speech, you forget what to say next. This could be a 'Make or Break' moment.So, just embrace the mistake and continue by saying, maybe, from next time, I should start taking memory pills," he added.

Learning To Make More Eye Contact:

For Pawan Hora- Co-Founder & Director, WishBox Communications Pvt. Ltd., a speaker should always make eye contact with people when he/she speaks.

"By not looking at them in the eye you don't only give an impression of not being confident but also lose their interest beyond a point. Secondly, always add a bit of humor in your speech. This not only will help you to soothe your senses but also a bit of laughter and giggle amongst the crowd add a lot of character to the speech/talk," shared Hora.

Always Give Anecdotes/Case Studies :

Nothing sells better than stories. Hora feels the speaker should address the audience with a question, anecdote and case study.

"Have a good spread of anecdotes and stories that could be of famous personalities or events or for that matter your own experiences in life. They will always help you to engage with the audience with greater ease," he added.

Nidhi Singh

Former Correspondent, Entrepreneur Asia-Pacific

A self confessed Bollywood Lover, Travel junkie and Food Evangelist.I like travelling and I believe it is very important to take ones mind off the daily monotony .

Thought Leaders

Need More Confidence? These 10 Bestselling Books Will Help Improve Your Self-Esteem

Self-esteem can be hard to come by and even harder to maintain. To give yourself a boost, try these authors' words of wisdom.

Growth Strategies

Green Hydrogen Adoption: Where Does India Stand?

The cost disparity poses a challenge to the widespread adoption of green hydrogen, especially in sectors where cost competitiveness is crucial.

Side Hustle

The Side Hustle He Started at Age 15 Led to a $4 Billion Boon for Small Businesses: 'They Would Take a Chance on Me With Their Hard-Earned Money'

Nic Beique asked his local barber, gym and more if they'd like him to build a website for their businesses.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Fundraising

The 7 Characteristics of a Great Networker

Find out if you've got what it takes – or can learn how – to be a successful networker.

News and Trends

Collective Artists Network Secures Investment from Nikhil Kamath

The investment is a secondary transaction, that is poised to open the road to a '5X' return, thanks to a strategic exit for InMobi's Glance, which had an investment in Collective dating back to 2021.