Welcome to my new blog! by John Deery

John Deery, The Public Speaking Course tutor.

Welcome to my first-ever blog post. I want these posts to be informative as well as giving you some practical tools to help when you have to stand up and speak in front of people. No one is born a great public speaker. Of course, some people are more naturally better at it than others, but most people are frightened of speaking in front of other people. “What will he think of me, what will she think of me, what will they think of me? What happens if I make a mistake or forget what I am saying?”

We know from research that at least 75% of people are fearful of speaking in public. From my experience – having worked in this area for almost 3 decades – it is much more than 75%, I would say it’s closer to 90%. My philosophy is simple: everyone has a right to speak and that includes you. Clear, crisp, concise communication is important and will help you to get your message across. Being able to communicate authentically and effectively changes the way people see you and your business and helps you to achieve your goals, both professionally and personally. It also changes the way you see yourself.

I started The Public Speaking Course almost by accident – or coincidence as it turned out – I will elaborate on its origins in a future post. I have seen the way people have changed as a result of breaking through the fear. When people attend my course, they get the opportunity to stand up and speak in front of other participants, all of whom are there for the same reason as them. And the big thing to remember is that you are not alone. In fact, you are in the majority.

Over the many years I have been doing this work, there is pretty much nothing I haven’t seen or heard. Fear grips people and often prevents them from getting ahead in their careers or going for promotion. But there is a way out. You have already done two things. Firstly, you have recognised you have an issue speaking in front of other people and secondly, you have taken action otherwise you would not be reading this. Both are equally important, so it’s a good sign.

No one is ever 100% free of fear when speaking in public – not even me! – it’s the human condition whether we like it or not, but there are many ways to help you overcome it.

Here are some important first steps you may find useful:

You have a right to be there, otherwise you wouldn’t be there, and you have a right to speak. After all, the audience have come to listen to you.
Most people would rather you be up there speaking than them.
If you can, always check out where you are speaking beforehand. It will help you to break the ‘fear’ of the room.
Take a ‘moment’ before you begin speaking, to let the audience settle – to let them know you are there, that you have something to say and that you want them to listen.
Make eye contact with your audience where possible, but not in a ‘weird’ way! Just for a split second, taking in all areas of the room.
Body language: don’t apologise for being there, just be there and be fully present no matter what happens during your talk.
You are telling a story: beginning, middle, end – crisp, clear, concise.

All of these are pointers and will help you. I will elaborate on them in more detail in future posts, but for now relax and know that help is at hand.

Thanks for reading and hope you come back here soon.

The Public Speaking Course is a member of Laurel Leaf Networking.