Fake it till you make it.

Public speaking for me is one of my biggest fears...

I just can't think of anything worst than standing up in front of a group of people and sharing your "ideas", it's just terrifying!

Saying that...

Today we had our first presentation for the fragrance brief and I gave the best speech I've ever have  *cheers*, okay so compared to other people who are very confident at public speaking I wasn't that great... I said "ummmm" quite a few times but still there's always room for improvement. 

Although I do think practice helps, I did a few other things differently today compared to other times, so if you want some tips on how to improve at public speaking then read on:

1. Tell yourself you are a confident person.

We watched a clip of this guy talking at a graduation ceremony in America, he was giving them tips and tricks for 'making' it in the art world. To be honest I didn't take a lot of it in but the one thing that really stuck with me was "tell yourself you're a confident person even if you're not", it's that idea of 'faking it till you make it'. I have always been unconfident but there's no reason why I should be- if you want to be confident then just believe you are & you will be. 

2. Plan, plan, plan.

As bad as this is going to sound I usually don't prepare what I'm going to say before doing a presentation which is just setting myself for a fail, because I'm not one of those lucky people who can just 'wing it' (seriously I wish I was!). Today I'd really thought out what to say and it helped me massively, although I did feel I was looking at my notes more than the group, still it's a step in the right direction...

3. Take your time.

Even if you have a time limit, if you plan in advance then you should be aware what you can say in the time you're given. Don't try to cram loads of information in, in a short space of time because that will just confuse the people listening. Talk slowly & remember to breathe.

4. Avoiding saying words like "ummm".

This is something I still need to work on because I have a habit of saying something good and following it with "ummmmm". I don't know why I do it maybe it's just to fill the gap when instead a short breathing pit stop would've be fine. I think I feel that when talking, I have to constantly be saying something, when you don't- make what you say short but sweet. 

5. If you can look at your audience.

Again something I didn't do that much of today, I looked at my audience more than I usually do but not as much as ought to have done. Make eye contact because it really makes you look confident & like you know what you're talking about.

Hope these tips help any of you who like me maybe struggling at public speaking. 

Don't expect to be confident overnight, it's something that will come with practice and time- taking baby steps will help you reach your end goal. 

Let me if these tips work in the comments below. 

Take care & I'll see you all soon.

(hopefully I'll get some sort of constancy on this blog sometime soon)

X

Pictures aren't my own.