I am unable to talk in front of people. I feel stuck and shy. What are the ways in which I can improve my Public Speaking Skills?

Human beings sometimes feel shy, conscious, and stuck while speaking in front of others. On some occasions, it is normal however if it is happening constantly and impacting social, personal, and occupational life then it is a matter of concern. It happens mostly during adolescence as the adolescents are going through a lot of physical changes and cognitive development. They feel that others are as curious about them as they care about themselves. 

Talking in front of the public is behaviour and like any other behaviour, it can be learned. However, before talking about how it can be learned, it is important to understand why it happens. Many people feel stuck and shy when they have to talk in front of people because of the following reasons:- 

Reasons Why People Are Afraid Of Public Speaking

·         It can be inherited from parents. In other words, some people are shy. It is their personality trait. 

·         Poor parenting – When parents are overprotective then children might develop social phobia

·         Observing the role models 

·         Constant criticism and failure 

·         A traumatic experience like child abuse

How To Improve Public Speaking

Prepare well – Before starting the interaction with others, make sure you know very well what you have to talk about. Talk about something which you know very well. Avoid topics on which you have less knowledge. Also prepare yourself with the questions that probably can be asked by colleagues, friends during the conversation.

Organize your content adequately – If you are going for a presentation, make sure that you have all the necessary material with you which will be required during the presentation. Reach before time. 

Visualization – Visualize yourself as speaking confidently in front of others. Visualize that others are quite impressed with your speech. They like to be in your company and they like communicating with you. You are interacting with them without any hesitation or nervousness.

Positive affirmation technique – You can read aloud the below given positive affirmative statements daily and monitor your improvements monthly 

·         I am a good communicator.

·         I speak confidently in front of others.

·         I believe in myself

·         I can handle anxiety while speaking with others. 

·         I am worthy of communicating nicely with others

Go slow and practice speaking in a safe place – Try speaking confidently in front of the mirror. Then you can speak in front of your family members, friends, or any person with whom you feel comfortable. Take their feedback. Improve yourself and then finally try speaking in front of others.  

The reason for fear of public speaking varies from individual to individual hence there is no one fix and permanent solution that can be generalized on all human beings. The therapy should be tailored as per the client’s current problem. Appropriate guidance and therapeutic intervention will empower the individuals to talk in front of people adequately.