“You’re gonna hear me roar!”

The drums in my ears got louder, and the whoosh of my own breath followed into my head. My palms tingled with the sweat that I had no idea, had gathered on them, as I made all the effort to control the shivering of my knees. In those thirty seconds of my moment on the stage, I felt that someone had drenched me in ice cold water, without any rescue gear, while everyone stared as I flailed around with the words that could end the agony.

This is exactly how I felt when I was supposed to make an impromptu public speech on a topic I had no clue about before a bunch of people who appeared to be more knowledgeable and seemingly had cameras for eyes! As if someone had made me stand naked before people who were going to point their fingers at me, and start laughing or whispering to each other any second!

                                                                          Image Courtesy: Speakingconfidence.co.uk

I was terrified! Nothing could abate the fear I had of standing on a raised platform and screw up (maybe!).

But the good news is that even though I am still jittery when it comes to speaking in public, I have come a far way from the time when I used to think of myself as a piñata that would be hit anytime when on stage.The fright of public speaking can be converted to confidence and the ability to shine. And if I could do it, so can you, without a doubt.

Instead of telling you the already obvious ways of combating the fear of public speaking, I am going to tell you of the approach that I personally adopted to alleviate that creepy, crawly feeling of being the center of attention. Believe me when I say this – I have had my fair share of public humiliation – though most of it was in my head. Here we go with some effective steps to overcome the anxiety of public speaking:

1. Make the Mirror your friend: Talk to yourself! I know it might sound crazy, but talking to yourself while looking in the mirror is a great way to be comfortable with yourself. If you are asked to present something impromptu, imagine that those people looking at you know nothing and you have the control  over them. But if this seems difficult to you for a start, then look at the next step.
2. Read out loud if you must: The thing with speaking anything out loud is that you discern the words that you are uttering and can thus, alter your pitch, the throw of your voice and practice sounding better if nothing else. You really have to be a little self-focused (not conceited!) when you are addressing a crowd.
3. Be thorough: If it is a presentation, I have found out that being thorough with your preparation adds to the confidence. I have a mellow and shaky voice, but Ipr a class of LLM students on a topic that I had no clue about only by preparing well. And as I spoke, I thought of the mirror and myself. Only myself.
4. Laugh at yourself: Being honest and laughing at yourself can really loosen up the crowds. It was easier for me to speak when I told the audience that I was no speaker and that whatever I was going to speak was with the intention to try and not bore them, they did laugh (don’t care about whether it’s real or fake!) and I went ahead with what I knew.
5. Control your thoughts: Focus on here and now. How would you do that? By not imagining yourself as an idiot or a dud or a loser. We are way too harsh on ourselves than anyone else. I presented before my class of intellectually smart lawyers (as a part of them) on a topic that was not only lame (according to me) but was nowhere related to law, only because I knew about it and liked it. I had spoken on Vampires, just in case you are wondering!
6. Start with a smile: Instead of thinking OHMYGODIAMGOINGTODIE, just smile. If you fumble, don’t worry! People have short term memories and you can always make up for it somewhere else. The key is to do it anyway!
7. Be your own hero: Which you are, by the way – you have the ability to speak, and express yourself. What better way to make yourself heard and seen? Go on and take that stage. It is yours and only

We are gonna hear you roar now, aren’t we!