1) Before going to the venue
Prepare well:
Everything cannot be planned but plan most of the worst-case scenarios.
Practice, practice, and yeah more practice
- Initial few speeches practice thoroughly and spend more time practicing. After a couple of speeches, you will notice your practicing time goes down.
For example: Initially, Julian used to practice her initial speeches 10 to 15 times, but now it has come down to 5 times.
2) Before going to the stage
Positive affirmations
Use affirmations to boost your confidence.
Example:
- I have practiced well, I will deliver a speech and the audience will love it.
- I know I can do this
Power Pose
Most of you might be thinking this is insane. It can’t be true. Julian used to think that it wouldn’t work until the day she applied it and saw the magic happen. During the first interview of her life, She was scared to death. She went to the washroom and tried power poses, obviously, she couldn’t do it in front of everyone. Her level of confidence just shot up. A combination of power pose and reiterating positive thoughts is a powerful technique to boost your confidence.
Actually, it’s a technique used in NLP ( Neuro-Linguistic Programming). If your emotions can affect your body language, then your body language can affect your emotions. That’s how the human body works.
Listen to your favorite music which gives you power and confidence.
3) While you are on stage
Focus on breathing:
While you are on the stage, the first thing you need to do is stand firm and take a deep breath. Not a shallow breath, a deep breath or we call it “Diaphragmatic Breathing” or “Belly Breathing”. This will help you to gain control of the situation.
Note: You don’t have to place your hands on your chest while on stage. Don’t ask me “WHY?”
Don’t give yourself too much importance
The speech is about your audience, it’s never about you. You are just a mere tool to convey the message and make a difference. So don’t be self-obsessed. If you make small mistakes it’s fine as long as it won’t mislead your audience.
Enjoy the game you are in
You are speaking to express not impress. So enjoy your time on stage.
