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Many people with this fear avoid public speaking situations, or they suffer through the situation with shaking hands and a quavering voice. There is no age restriction to public-speaking anxiety, it is a common phenomenon. A lot of people get nervous when they speak in public, which is why they tend to avoid making eye contact with their audience.
One way to get through the anxiety of public speaking is to consider what your anxiety is really about. Stop for a moment and think about it – if you were to stand up in front of a large audience or even a small group of people and speak, what is your real concern? Is it the risk of the speaking itself (you are not skilled at it) or something else? If it is a skills issue, then there are many ways to learn how to: speak more clearly, use better diction, structure a speech, or make your presentation more interesting or compelling. Yet, it’s possible that your real concerns are that you wouldn’t perform or execute your presentation very well, and that you might leave feeling embarrassed, frustrated, angry or sad that your performance didn’t meet your expectations or the standard you set for yourself. If it is not a skill or structure issue, then see it as a reluctance to be vulnerable. Understand that your anxiety is less about the speaking itself, and more about not wanting to face or experience the emotional outcome of your speaking (e.g., embarrassment, disappointment, anger), especially if the event or situation turns out less than you planned for or expected. Anxiety about public speaking is essentially about not wanting to face unpleasant feelings if your speaking/presentation doesn’t go well. If you see yourself as being able to tolerate these unpleasant feelings before you even get up to speak, then you will be able to engage in public speaking because you already know you can handle the undesired emotional outcome, if, in fact, your speaking does not go as planned.
Always be in a clam state before and when delivering a speech. The thought of having to deliver a speech can cause anxiety, so you have to be well relaxed even when you think about it. While delivering a speech, do not hurry through the speech, breath comfortably. Also, you have to prepare very well ahead of your speaking. Lack of good preparation can cause you serious anxiety, when you prepare for your speech very well, you have less to worry about. The speech does not have to be long, especially if you will be speaking publicly for the first time. Make your speech short and meaningful, you don’t want to bore your audience.