There are very few, if any, people who do not suffer from some degree of public speech anxiety. It is absolutely normal for a person to have a severe case of nerves when they have to stand in front of a group of people and speak. Overcoming the anxiety in public speaking is possible, but you will have to work at it.

The fear of public speaking is known as glossophobia. This is the most commonly occurring phobia, even more common than arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. So you are not alone, the fact is that almost everyone you are speaking to knows exactly how frightening public speaking is, and they are all glad that they are not having to do it.

The beginning step to overcoming fear related to speaking in public is to start with a small group of people you are familiar on. That is right, you need to practice. You need to gather a small number of people that you feel comfortable around and practice making your speech. The more often you practice the speech, the more familiar you become with it. The more familiar you are with it, then the more confident you will be when you have to speak it again. After a few times the speech you are giving will be as easy to say as your name and address are.

You need to time yourself when you are giving your speech. Nine times out of ten if you have been asked to make a public address then there is a certain amount of time allotted for the speech you are giving. You do not want to finish too quickly and leave time open, and you do not want to run too long and take away from someone else. So when you are practicing you should time how long it takes you to make your speech, so you can adjust things accordingly.

Some people think that the way to overcome public speaking fears is to memorize the material you are going to say. This is the worst thing you can do. If you memorize the words and for some reason you are interrupted, then you will have a difficult time picking back up and getting your momentum back. Instead you should know the material inside and out, and therefore you will be comfortable with the speech, and know it as well as you know your name. Yes. I know I have already said that, but it is important that you get just that comfortable with the material you are covering.

Before you go up to the podium find a few people in the audience that you can focus on during your address. Approach people beforehand, and introduce yourself, shake their hands, and use them as focal points, or find people you know to use as focal points. Having someone in the audience that you can look at during your speech makes you appear to be connecting more with your audience, and it makes you calm down a degree.

One of the best ways to bet over public speaking nerves is to engage the audience in your speech. Go ahead at the beginning and tell them that you are as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. You will be letting them feel like they are privileged to some personal information about you, while you lighten the tension with a little humor. Try during your speech to include your audience by asking them questions that they can respond to. While the audience is responding you will have time to collect yourself and your thoughts, and thus you will be able to continue with your speech.

Believe it or not the most important thing you need to know about the anxiety of public speaking is that your most nervous time will be the moments right before you walk up to the podium. This is the time when your stomach will literally tie up in knots. You need to try to take deep breaths, exhale them very slowly in order to try and gain some control over these nerves. Just close your eyes and tell yourself to relax.

You really can do this, and you will be fine, just take deep breaths, and practice.

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