Conquering Public Speaking

There is a plague thatwreaks havoc on most of the world’s population and continues to do so each day.It’s called glossophobia and at one time, I was no exception to its longreach.  This scourge does not care aboutyour ethnic background, your social economic status, your IQ, sexual preferenceor even what you most enjoy for breakfast each morning.  It’s relentless and for some people can be acompletely debilitating condition if forced to do it.  Glossophobia is the technical term for thefear of public speaking.  Public speakingis something that many people fear, few have mastered, and every one of us cando effectively if we take the time master it.   

Many people assume I was just naturally gifted with the skill of public speaking.  To this point I’ve spoken in hundreds of settings that range from theaters packed to capacity to classrooms of about twenty to thirty students.  I’ve spoken in front of military formations, board rooms, and have sold key decision-makers on strategic changes and policies.  And to the surprise of many, I was at one point absolutely petrified when expected to speak in front of a gathering.  So, what changed?  How did I overcome this overwhelming fear?  When reflecting on how I’ve transitioned from a person that would find any excuse to avoid public speaking to someone who now volunteers to do it at every opportunity, I’ve determined that it comes down to three main components: desire, preparedness and practice. 

Desire – “This desire must be tied to something you value because goals not tied to something you truly value are not really your goals, they are the goals of others.” 

I’ve found that toconquer a fear such as public speaking, the most important thing isdesire.  This desire can’t be representedby a statement like, “well I really wish I could be comfortable with speakingin public,” but rather manifests itself in a statement like, “to be who I wantto be, I need to get over this fear and master this skill.”  It’s more than a simple “it would be cool if Icould speak in public.”  This desire mustbe tied to something you value because goals not tied to something you trulyvalue are not really your goals, theyare the goals of others.  For me, myvalues of pursuing excellence and being competent have driven me to the goal ofbeing an effective leader within my profession. I feel that the ability to speak in front of large crowds and to inspireand motivate is part of being an effective and competent leader.  Therefore, I had a deep desire to get overthe fear of public speaking.  There aremany people who simply wish they were better at something, but how many havethe fortitude to truly master that something? Those that have that courage likely have their values and goals inalignment.  The next key ingredient to overcomingthe fear of public speaking is preparedness.

Preparedness – "One’s deep self-awareness and ability to effectively speak in public go hand in hand."  

Preparedness is more than just knowing your topic, but it also involves understanding who you are and recognizing your audience.  In my experience, I have noticed there are three types of people who are willing to speak in front of an audience.  The first type seems to not fear getting in front of people and may be charismatic and even funny.  However, they don’t know enough about the topic to provide substance and when they are done, the audience is left confused and unsatisfied.  The second type of public speaker is extremely knowledgeable but does not have the greatest presentation skills.  This person lacks charisma and an understanding of the audience’s knowledge level, experience or even temperament.  They may pass on very useful information, but the audience is either unable to are unwilling to receive.  Then there is the third type of public speaker, the one who can do both; they can present information in a way the audience can absorb, and they know enough about the topic to provide substance.  This requires a deep understanding of oneself, the audience, and the topic. 

One’s deep self-awareness and ability to effectively speak in public go hand in hand.  What are your strengths and what do you bring to the table?  Are you funny?  If so, bring humor to the discussion.  Is humor not in your swing zone?  Then don’t force jokes in or it’ll come off as awkward and inauthentic.  Critical thinking, honesty, perspective – these are all strengths that we may have and should leverage in any endeavor to include public speaking.  Be yourself, but first you may have to find out who “yourself” is, and part of that is finding out who you are not.  There is a multitude of resources available to get you started.  You can take the free values in action survey at www.Viame.org, find strength finder exercises on the internet, research and participate in Johari’s Window exercises, or ask your most trusted confidants to give you honest feedback, to name just a few.  However, as important as it is to know yourself, knowing your audience is also a key element.

Knowing your audience canaid in tailoring your approach to presenting information to a crowd.  Is the audience composed of keydecision-makers that have limited knowledge of the proposal?  Are they a rambunctious crowd of technicianswho simply want to go back to work?  Arethey highly educated in the subject you are presenting?  Is your audience in need of motivation andinspiration?  Are they in need of someentertainment?  Do you want them to buyin to a change or new policy?  What isthe intent of your presentation and who are you talking to?  These questions may reveal vital bits ofinformation you need to understand prior to the development of your speech,presentation or briefing.  We have allbeen to meetings that seemed like they had no purpose or could’ve simply been deliveredin the form of an email.  The quickestway to lose confidence in yourself is to lose your audience and getting allthis information is critical to preparedness and will aid in researching yourtopic.

Understanding your topicis the final ingredient in preparedness. Nothing will sink your presentation quicker than your own ignorance ofthe topic you are assigned.  Study thetopic and know relevant data.  Askyourself a minimum of three questions the audience may ask that you haven’talready covered.  Research the answersand have them in your hip pocket.  Study,study, and study!  The entire reason youare speaking is to relay information on a subject so not knowing the relevantdata on the topic makes you irrelevant to the discussion.  Put in the extra hour and continue toresearch and weave key data points into your presentation to securecredibility.  Now as important as desireand preparedness is to public speaking, there is no substitute to practice.

Practice – "Resist the urge to sit comfortably in the shadows and embrace the amazing that is you."

Practice?  Are we really talking about practice?  Yes, we are absolutely talking aboutpractice. I remember a conversation between a friend of mine and my cousin frommany years ago.  My friend was talkingabout the various exercises he was working on to increase how many push-ups hecould do, and my cousin made a profound statement: “You know how you get betterat doing push-ups?  You dopush-ups.”  This practice may come in theform of rehearsing your speech or briefing and I absolutely recommend that as Ido it regularly.  However, it goes beyondrehearsing—it’s also about putting yourself out there to perform at everyopportunity.  Resist the urge to sitcomfortably in the shadows and embrace the amazing that is you.  Volunteer for any speaking opportunities thatcome about or join clubs that practice. Raise your hand to talk about a topic you aren’t the subject matterexpert on and learn about it.  If you caneffectively speak on something you know little to nothing about, imaginewhat’ll happen when you get a chance to talk about something you know inside andout.  Be comfortable with being uncomfortable!  Even to this day, I am still nervous prior tospeaking to a large crowd.  But I now seeit as a challenge to overcome versus something that will deter me from mygoals.  You can do it too if you have thedesire to overcome, you diligently prepare, and you put in the effort topractice being comfortable outside your comfort zone. 

Editor’s Notes:  Joe Bogdan is a manager at Llama Leadership and is a senior enlisted leader in the United States Air Force.  He has led various organizations with diverse missions across multiple countries and currently oversees over 400 people composed of U.S. Military and German civilian personnel in Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.